Your Guardian Angel of Deception
by The Fuzz 15
Summary: All of it was a lie: the smiles, the hugs, the tears, the annoying behavior, the weakness, the happiness, the sorrow, the hate, the begging, the love, All of it. It was all a lie. One of the biggest lies ever, was I, Sakura Haruno
1. Prologue

**Here's a little Valentine's gift for all of you who have followed this story even though it went on a yearlong hiatus!**

**The re-edited version of the prologue! There are only a few minor changes, nothing really extreme. You will notice that I deleted the part after this point, but that is because it no longer fit in there.**

**For all of you new readers out there: This is a story that I stopped writing for a year and will start up after I have finished up my other story. I'm making changes to the plot, mainly because it didn't have one before...**

**Thanks for reading!**

Prologue

All of it was a lie: the smiles, the hugs, the tears, the annoying behavior, the weakness, the happiness, the sorrow, the hate, the begging, the love, even the voice... All of it. It was all a lie. One of the biggest lies ever, was I, Sakura Haruno. I was not weak I was a prodigy. My personality wasn't annoying it was an act. I did not cry about everything or laugh at every little thing Sasuke, Kakashi, Yamato, and Naruto said, I was serious. Last, and perhaps the biggest lie of all, I was not in love with Sasuke Uchiha, I was protecting him, how could I love him, someone so consumed by hatred and so bent on revenge? How?

It was my job to lie, the position I was placed in when I was only seven. "Lie to them Sakura, lie to everyone, until that day," That's what he told me the day he left, when I was too young to understand what had happened. The only real joy that was brought to me was whenever I would receive a letter from him, I would trace my finger over the words he would write. I started at the greeting and read all the way to the closing. I would then re-read the letters ten times over.

I wasn't entirely heartless. I did grow to care for my teammates, but they never really knew me. I couldn't care entirely for people that never knew me.

The day finally came when my real journey started. It was my fourteenth birthday and I received a letter from him telling me it was time. That night I left to finally be at the place where I was promised a position. I crept out of my room window that night. I didn't pack anything, I wouldn't need it; I just left. I was in a hurry, but I refused to show my rush to be reunited with him, I was good at acting by now. I wondered in the forest for miles, taking note of how the trees would thin and then thicken almost as quickly as they had thinned. The stars speckled the sky and displayed themselves beautifully up against the midnight blue canopy of the sky. It was all so much more beautiful to me now as I knew all the waiting was finally over.

I came to a river, which was as wide as three of me lying down. Across the river was a cave with flowers blossoming all around it. I jumped easily over the river and crept into the mouth of the cave, and, for the first time, I was nervous. I took a deep breath and walked in the dark for a while. My eyes slowly adjusted to the low lighting. My feet stopped when I came to a staircase lined with unlit torches, as I started walking towards the stairs again the torches lit and I proceeded up. At the top, I was greeted by a small group of ninja in a 'v' formation. The one in front possessed orange hair with several piercings, and what seemed to be a ripple effect in his purple gray eyes.

"Pein," I greeted bowing respectfully.

"Welcome our newest member, Sakura Haruno, of the Konohagakure," Pein said almost emotionlessly to the other members of Akatsuki and you could feel his dominance over them. Pein turned and walked away into the shadows, followed by Konan. I stayed rooted in the place I was standing while looking for _him_. My eyes grazed the other members and landed on a man with an orange mask with a strange pattern on it. Something about him unnerved me. I shook the feeling off when I spotted him and walked towards him, "Itachi," I greeted.

"Sakura," he greeted me in return, "it's been too long."

"I agree," I said staring up at him, he stared back and I was at last reunited with Itachi Uchiha, the older brother I never had and we began to plan for the day this would all end.

That night I would finally let the mask fall and break, never again would I be the girl I had pretended to be for so many years.

**If you have read this story before and missed my Author's note I have attached just so you have a clearer understanding of what's going on.**

**I have decided to completely start this story over because I am not happy with the direction it took. Let's just admit: Sakura ended up being like her usual self if not worse... I'm disappointed in myself... (I'm not saying I don't like Sakura's character she's one of my favorites :))Look for a possible update after A Blurred Past is completed!**

**The plot line may even be different! GASP! I'm still trying to tweak it a bit.**

**I'm going to start thanking all of my reviewers, favoriters, and followers in my updates so that's a nice little change to look forward to :)**


	2. Chapter 1

**Just a few quick things: I have changed the prologue to Sakura leaving when she turns fourteen. It just made it easier for me plot-wise.**

**This story isn't going to strictly follow the manga's timeline as you will see within a few sentences.**

**If you spot any typos feel free to point them out to me and I will change them ASAP!**

Chapter 1

Sasuke sat at a table with his elbows resting upon the top of said table and his chin resting on his folded hands. He was completely bored and tired of the always-dark cave the Akatsuki lived in. He was growing impatient. He thought that if he had teamed up with the Akatsuki things would move quickly, but instead, they had come almost to a complete stop because of Madara. Madara always had a new excuse for delaying the attack on Konoha and Sasuke had grown tired of waiting.

When Sasuke had first joined the Akatsuki he learned two things: They had grown significantly weaker, and there used to be another member that had disappeared under mysterious circumstances a little over two years ago. He didn't care much about the person, but he was curious if he would be of any value to his goals of destroying the Leaf.

Another thing had him frustrated - everything seemed to put him on edge these days - his last run-in with his former team two years ago. He sat day after day just waiting for the chance to make Naruto eat his words. He had expected begging and pleading from Sakura, but instead she was nowhere to be seen. He supposed that meant that rumors of her early and unexpected death had been true. She always was a sad excuse for a shinobi and her dying early had come with no surprise.

Naruto had also turned into more of a nuisance than he would have ever expected. He knew that he pathetically clung to bonds, but he never thought he would take his precious bonds this far. Naruto constantly berated Sasuke like _he_ was the one in the wrong, but Konoha was to blame and that would never change. He was growing tired of having to deal with him and couldn't wait for the time when he would finally be rid of him and his preaching.

Sasuke sat at the table with the sudden urge to kill something. Ever since the high of killing Danzo he found himself wanting to replicate the feeling more often. He would go on random killing sprees to quench the thirst, but he knew he would never get the same high until he killed the other two elders of Konoha or, better yet, Naruto.

Sasuke stood up from the table so quickly his chair tipped over and pounded the ground. He paid it no attention and instead proceeded to the mouth of the cave sheeting his katana as he went.

He came to a stop when the air in front of him began swirling and Madara appeared before him, blocking his exit.

"What?" Sasuke snarled. He was tired of Madara hindering him.

"Where do you think you are going, Sasuke?" Madara monotoned.

"Out," Sasuke said simply.

"Need I remind you that I have deemed it dangerous at the current time for you to go 'out.'"

"I don't recall you being my babysitter _or_ my father."

"Being your closest living relative you could say that I am somewhat of a Father figure now."

"I don't take orders from anyone." Sasuke growled as he brushed past Madara and out into the fresh air and forest that surrounded the mouth of the cave.

Sasuke pulled out his katana and began practicing his swings while wondering through the forest. He swung the blade through a thinner tree and tried to picture it like it was going through human flesh. His desire to kill someone was still hanging around him, but the only person nearby was their prisoner, Yamato, and Madara would complicate Sasuke's goal as punishment.

Sasuke twitched his hand and lightning flickered at his fingertips in response to his agitation. He considered walking to the civilian village ten miles south of their hideout to find someone to quench his thirst for blood, but the people knew he was associated with Akatsuki and they would lose their source of supplies and food.

He was frustrated. Madara said that the timing just wasn't right yet, but Sasuke was tired of "laying low and waiting." He was ready to see some action! He had replaced his eyes with Itachi's _two years ago_! They still hadn't seen any action and he wanted to use them to see how far they allowed him to progress!

He heard a bird flying about a hundred feet above him and blasted it out of the sky with an unnecessary amount of Chidori. He held his katana up in the air, and the fried bird was impaled as it plummeted to the earth. Sasuke swung it off his blade and up against a tree. He decided to go to the village south of the hideout anyway. Even though he couldn't kill anyone without crippling Akatsuki, he could still go to a local bar. Someone was always up for a fight there.

Beating a villager an inch of his life did sound like proper amusement at the moment.

He flash stepped towards the village and was there in a minute. A sloppy amount of time he told himself.

As he walked towards the bar girls ogled, guys glared, and some looked in admiration. Mother's hid their children from view. They lived in fear of the Akatsuki and were just waiting for some excuse to cut of ties with them. Sasuke ignored all the words thrown in his direction and walked into the bar.

A fight was already going on in the back of the room and a crowd had surrounded the two men. Sasuke walked towards the men and the crowd parted from him. The two men broke up their fight and waited for Sasuke to choose his opponent. He pointed to the more burly man on the left. The man smirked as if he could defeat Sasuke.

Sasuke pulled his shirt off and tossed it behind him. He tuned out the screaming girls as they rushed to grab his shirt and the whistles from the barmaid. He popped his knuckles and neck before taking his stance. The burly man made the first move by aiming a fist at Sasuke's abdomen. Sasuke grabbed the man's hand and redirected it so the man found himself punching his own face. Sasuke still held the man's fist and used it to flip him onto the ground. The man's breath left him as his back took the brunt of the fall. Sasuke squatted to the ground and elbowed the man's ribcage. He then grabbed the man's head, lifted it a little off the ground, and let it drop heavily to the floor.

The man was out cold.

Everyone knew Sasuke usually let his victims stay conscious a lot longer than that, and whenever he didn't they took it as a sign to mean he wanted a bigger challenge or he was just in a really bad mood. Five men accepted the unsaid challenge and attacked him all at once. Sasuke dropped low to the ground and transferred all of his weight to his hands. He split his legs in the air and kicked two of the men away from him. Two of the other men made a dive for Sasuke's hands, but Sasuke anticipated the move and used his hands to push himself into the air allowing the two men to collide heads and lose consciousness. He did a few back flips towards the counter and landed on it easily in a squat position. A few gasps were heard from the people ignoring the fight and just enjoying their drinks.

The two disoriented men he had kicked at the beginning gathered their wits about them and pursued Sasuke with the third man following. Sasuke flash stepped behind them, grabbed the man in the back by his shirt, and slammed him on the counter relishing in the sickening shatter of glass as it lodged itself in the man's back and legs.

Sasuke turned just as another man was swinging his fist at him; he ducked and punched the man in his armpit. He grabbed the man's left foot and tugged it forward making the man fall on his back. He placed his other hand on the man's knee and pushed downwards while his other hand continued to pull his leg up. He smirked when he heard the man's bone give a satisfying crunch.

Without looking he kicked the other man in the jaw dislocating it. He then grabbed the man's arm and pulled it behind his back. The man let out yells of protest when Sasuke led him to the man unconscious on the counter. Sasuke was unfazed by the man's yells as he slammed the man's head against the other man's head. The first man's unconscious body slumped and fell to the floor

Everyone stared wordlessly as Sasuke exited. He wasn't completely satisfied as the men had been far from a challenge, but it was still enjoyable nonetheless.

Sasuke had taken his time going back to the cave and made it as the sun was setting. Madara was waiting for him at the entrance with his arms crossed.

"I hope you enjoyed your little outing," Madara said as Sasuke walked past him.

Sasuke stopped just behind him. "Why?" He knew Madara was implying something.

"Kabuto's gone missing," Madara said.

"How does this concern me?" Sasuke asked. He knew where this was going and it was souring his already bad mood.

"Well, since we don't know the reason for his disappearance, you aren't allowed to leave until he is found."

Sasuke was outraged! He knew this was punishment for leaving without permission. He turned on his heel fully prepared to drive his chidori right through Madara's head, but before the thought was even finished, Madara had vanished and an army of Zetsus were guarding his path.

**Thank you so much to all of you that have loyally waited for this story to continue! You guys rock and I hope not to disappoint you like that again!**

**I know this is a short chapter but I promise the next one will be longer!**

**See that little icon at the bottom that's glowing blue? The one that says review? Yeah, that's the one. He really enjoys it when he's clicked on :)**


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Naruto's fingers flexed on the table and fisted for what seemed to be the hundredth time that day.

He knew the information had to be there; it was just eluding him. Where was it? A drop of water fell onto one of the pieces of paper and smudged a few of the words. The drop was then followed by a few on his hand.

"Naruto," a voice called from behind him softly. Naruto looked up from the papers scattered across his table and wiped the back of his hand across his wet face.

"Uh-huh?" he choked out. His voice sounded strangely void of emotion even to himself.

"I-I don't mean anything rude by this, but... It's been four years now, Naruto."

"I know, darn it!" Naruto snapped slamming his hands on the table. The legs shook precariously, and several papers flew off and glided to the floor. When he spoke his voice was broken and heart wrenching. "That's why... That's why I _have _to find him, Hinata."

Naruto turned to Hinata who was hiding partially behind the door.

"Naruto, if they haven't found him by now... What makes you think-"

"They're all _missing _something, Hinata! It's in this information somewhere; I just don't know _where_."

Naruto's eyes skimmed the papers with a new fire in his heart. It had been four years to the day since it had happened and he wasn't going to let the mystery stretch any further.

Naruto glanced at one of the papers on the ground and something about it had caught his eye. He walked around the table and crouched before the paper. He picked it up delicately and let his eyes dart around the page.

He began reading the page out loud, "'There appeared to have been no struggle; though, blood was found going diagonally across the victim's bed, the wall, and lightly dribbled on the ceiling. A few drops were found on the opposite wall. Most likely the victim was immobilized immediately and slashed diagonally upward by the murderer's weapon. Victim would have been dead upon contact.' _How _could she have not put up any sort of fight? This sounds like she just lied down and took it! Did she know the person or was it something else? And another thing, if she was labeled dead upon contact of the blade why take her body? It's not like she had a Kekkei Genkai!"

Naruto threw the paper that had given him a flicker of hope earlier, down in disgust.

"Naruto," Hinata said quietly; her voice a mixture of excitement and horror, "look at this."

Naruto turned and saw her holding a piece of red cloth.

"That's from her dress; they already matched the DNA," Naruto sighed lying down defeated on the floor.

Hinata shook her head even though Naruto couldn't see it. "It may have her DNA on it, but this fabric is a shade darker than her dress."

Naruto sprung up, but stopped himself from rushing forward when a thought came to mind. "It's probably just discolored from dried blood or faded through the years."

Hinata shook her head again studying the cloth closer. "If it was blood the cloth would be crusted and dried, and for all cases they put a jutsu on evidence that prevents them from aging. And look at this," Hinata held the cloth towards Naruto, "there's a tiny sliver of white, but it's grayer than the white on her dress."

Naruto took the cloth from Hinata and studied how the white dipped in randomly. The answer hit him quickly and he could have kissed Hinata if he wasn't so thoroughly outraged. He crumpled the fabric in his hand and ignored Hinata as she extended her hand and let out a cry to stop him. Naruto slammed the cloth into the table splitting the table in two.

Hinata flinched away. His eyes had slit and turned red while fangs protruded from his mouth. "Itachi Uchiha did this!"

"But, Naruto, he's been dead for two years and he was on-"

"-Our side?" Naruto interrupted. "Madara is full of lies, Hinata."

"That may be true, but Madara also has a Sharingan, Naruto," Hinata said putting a hand on his shoulder. Naruto relaxed slightly as the truth of her words sunk in.

"But why would he have taken her body or attacked her in the first place?"

"That doesn't matter right now. We need to tell Tsunade."

Naruto nodded his eyes still red, but he had more control of the Kyuubi now. He wouldn't lose control this time.

Hinata grabbed the piece of paper Naruto had read aloud and unlatched his grip on the cloth. She grabbed his hand and led him towards the Hokage's tower.

* * *

Sasuke could not think of a time he had ever felt so angry. Madara had gone too far this time, and Sasuke wasn't going to stand for it!

Madara had refused to allow Sasuke to be a part of the hunt for Kabuto and added insult to injury by not allowing him to step foot outside until Kabuto had been found!

Sasuke grit his teeth in frustration and let his Chidori run freely into one of Zetsu's clones that was barring his way.

"Sasuke, you are not-" Sasuke cut the Zetsu off with his katana.

"Madara can't keep me here. I'm no one's pawn; I do what I want to do and go where I want to go when I want to go there," Sasuke smirked. Killing the Zetsus was more satisfying than he thought it would be.

He took slow steps out of the cave - not because he was being cautious - because he was in no hurry.

He found himself hoping the worst had happened to Kabuto. The part-snake-part-Orochimaru-part-Kabuto thing disgusted him, and he had never liked Kabuto anyway. It was true that Sasuke had been part of Orochimaru before, but he didn't parade it or let the snake-sannin live on half of his face. Knowing that Orochimaru was alive inside of him had been a sickening thought from the start.

A sudden rustle in the leaves caught his attention. He looked towards the noise and saw a rock. He crouched before it and picked it up to examine it. Rocks didn't generally throw themselves.

Another rock flew in his direction and lazily hit a tree. Sasuke turned to the offending rock and then back in the direction it came from. Was someone throwing rocks at him?

Once more a rock flew lazily at him. Whoever it was wasn't throwing them at him, just in his general direction. That was enough to upset him. He strode through the trees and into a clearing where the rock-thrower with a death wish was. What he wasn't expecting was Kabuto lying facedown on the ground with blood oozing out of him, or that there would be a girl sitting perfectly relaxed on a stone - one hand behind her bracing her weight, the other lazily tossing a stone up and catching it. One leg was bent at the knee and resting on the stone while the other dangled casually and bounced off the rock in a slow rhythm.

That wasn't the strange part; the strange part was she was wearing an all black robe that was completely unscathed after killing Kabuto. That was a feat he could do easily, but the fact that it was just a simple kunoichi was strange. Who was she and why had she killed Kabuto?

"It was self-defense," the girl said continuing to bounce her heel on the stone.

Sasuke didn't respond.

She turned her hooded head towards him. "He attacked me, so I killed him," she shrugged at this. "That's what you're wondering, right?"

Sasuke didn't grace her with a response. Her voice had sounded familiar, though. He looked her over more thoroughly. As he had observed before, she was wearing a solid black cloak with the hood up. The cloak was pushed behind her shoulders revealing she was a girl with good physique. There was a piece of cloth wrapped around her arm, it was from an Akatsuki robe, but he had no earthly idea where she could have gotten it from. She wore a netted body suit that stopped above her knees and above her elbows, and there were holes at the shoulders. The color of her clothing was red and white, she had a sleeveless zip up shirt that stopped just below her ribcage and a skirt that was mid-thigh with a slight poof and a slit that ran halfway up on the right side. Her boots went below the knee and had holes at the toes. The heel was practical for fighting and not high like Karin's. She wore fingerless gloves, one was the same netted fabric as her underclothes and stopped just after her wrist. The other was red and white with a band that went around her middle finger to keep it up and stopped just before her elbow. It had a metal plate on the front that Sasuke guessed was for defense. A piece of metal caught the sun and glinted drawing his attention to it. He first focused on her fingernails that were painted a bluish green and then traveled down her finger to the piece of metal. It was an Akatsuki ring.

He knew this girl was most likely dangerous. The thought didn't phase him; he could take on a simple kunoichi if she attacked.

"One day you'll learn how to talk," she said dropping the rock on Kabuto's lifeless head. It bounced off and rolled a few inches away.

Sasuke didn't like the way she was talking to him so familiarly.

"It's sad really," she said referring to Kabuto as she looked down at his motionless body. Her face was still shadowed as she nudged his head with her toe, "he didn't really put up a good fight. I expected him to do _something _to me. He only succeeded in dirtying my robe..." she held up the hem of her robe that looked more like she had stepped in a mud puddle. "I don't know why Tobi would choose him as an ally."

"Who are you?" Sasuke found himself asking; his curiosity had gotten the better of him for once. He didn't like mysteries.

"I'm offended that you've forgotten me," she said in mock hurt. She sounded so familiar but something about the voice was off. "Has all of Akatsuki forgotten about me already? Surely you've heard of me!"

"Hn," Sasuke said simply. She must have been trying to make him think she was the Akatsuki member that had vanished.

"You're expecting me to believe you're the missing Akatsuki member?" Sasuke voiced his thoughts.

The girl shrugged. "I knew that a member was missing, didn't I?"

"Any mediocre spy would know that," Sasuke responded.

The girl crossed her arms in anger. "You're saying I'm a mediocre spy?"

"The missing Akatsuki member couldn't be a weak, little girl."

"You forget, I killed Kabuto."

"You forget, any number of amateur ninja could do that."

"I am _not _a weak ninja."

"You're right; you're a _kunoichi,"_ Sasuke spat the word like it had defiled his tongue. "It's much lower."

"Are you implying that all kunoichi are weak?" the girl sneered.

"Every kunoichi I've ever met is," Sasuke said thinking of Karin, Hinata, Ino, and Sakura.

"So, just because you haven't met many kunoichi you believe we're all weaklings? What about Konan, she was an Akatsuki member."

"_Was_. You forget that she's dead now."

"Not until after she nearly killed Tobi and took off his arm. What about the five Kages? Two of them are female."

"There are a few exceptions to my opinion of kunoichis."

"You only say that because people would consider you a fool for believing Tsunade and Mei to be weak."

"I have four exceptions to my opinion," Sasuke growled. She was getting underneath his skin. How unbearably annoying could she get?

"Let me guess, one of them is your mother?" the girl guessed. "Is it because she's dead or because she actually had some skill?"

In the time it took someone to blink, Sasuke brought his katana down on the girl. He was shocked when he saw she had deflected it with the metal plate around her arm, but he concealed his shock well.

"You don't need the Sharingan to anticipate an attack of that low of caliber," the girl almost laughed. "I am not a fool, Sasuke."

Sasuke was mildly impressed, but not enough to believe her to be the missing Akatsuki member. "Where did you get the fabric around your arm and that ring from?"

The girl tensed and he could tell she was angry with him. "From Tobi."

"His name is Madara," Sasuke said. Did this girl know anything?

"If he chose to go by the oaf-of-a-name before revealing himself then there is no reason for me not to call him that now," the girl scoffed.

Sasuke glared at the girl.

"I got your attention because I want you to take me to Tobi." the girl continued unfazed by Sasuke's glare.

Sasuke stared at her for a while before replying with a, "No," and walking off.

"So you're just going to go back now like an obedient little puppy, right? He's trained you well. I'll just follow you I suppose," the girl said standing up and brushing her skirt off.

Sasuke mentally twitched at her insult but wouldn't give her the satisfaction of a bodily reaction. "What makes you think I'm going back there?" Sasuke snapped at her.

"My my, someone's a little touchy on the subject of his master," the girl laughed. "Your leash isn't very long, is it?"

Sasuke grit his teeth. "Why shouldn't I just kill you on the spot? If you really _are_ an Akatsuki member, shouldn't you know how to get back without me showing you."

The girl laughed again. "As if you could lay a hand on me! You seem very defensive of the Akatsuki for someone that believes he's his own master."

"Answer the question," Sasuke grit out. The girl was pushing him over the edge when he was already in a horrible mood.

"I thought you might want the glory of bringing Tobi his personal medic and right-hand man back to him."

"Madara's right-hand man is Zetsu."

"Sad how he had to replace me with a thing that is half-person half-clone. You must be ashamed that you weren't competition enough for half a person."

Sasuke was infuriated with this girl. He chose to bring her to Madara, so Madara could confirm that she was an impostor and allow Sasuke to dispose with her however Sasuke saw fit. He wasn't in the mood to deal with her right now.

"Follow me," Sasuke growled walking towards the hideout. The girl followed silently behind and he could tell she was relishing in the fact that she had won. She could relish in the thought all she wanted; Sasuke knew she would soon be killed for her insolence.

Upon entering the cave Sasuke saw that Madara had returned. He was waiting for Sasuke while leaning up against the stone wall.

"This is the second day in a row that you have disobeyed my orders, Sasuke," Madara sighed. "I'm going to have to tighten your leash."

The girl snorted behind Sasuke.

"And what's this?" Madara asked looking behind Sasuke and sneering. "Not only do you disobey my orders, you also bring a female outsider into our hideout. I thought you were above such acts, Sasuke."

The girl walked out from behind Sasuke and got on her knee in front of Madara while bowing her head in humility.

"Madara-sama," the girl said her voice even sounding more humble. Sasuke scoffed at how she wasn't brave enough to call him by his "oaf-of-a-name" when she was actually in front of him. "I come before you and anxiously await my return to your side."

Behind his mask Sasuke could tell that Madara was surprised. "So, Akatsuki's Thunder has returned to us."

The girl nodded. Sasuke was inwardly shocked. The girl had really been in Akatsuki? Not only that, but Madara seemed to consider her a very important part of Akatsuki

"Follow me," Madara told the girl. "You must explain your absence to me, and, depending on your explanation, I will decide if I can trust you enough to be by my side again."

"I see that Akatsuki is still built on mutual distrust amongst its members."

Did Sasuke's ears deceive him or did he hear an amused cackle come from Madara?

"Sasuke, you will wait somewhere while I decide your punishment," Madara drawled. "Who knows both of your punishments may be intertwined."

The girl tensed somewhat upon hearing of a punishment.

Sasuke stared after them; this day could not get any worse.

* * *

Naruto kicked Tsunade's door right off the hinges. Before Tsunade could reprimand him, he had made his way to her desk and slammed the piece of paper and the cloth onto the desk.

"The Akatsuki. _Killed_. Sakura," Naruto growled looking angrily into Tsunade's eyes. Her eyes widened and she looked down at the two objects.

"What makes you suspect-"

"This isn't from Sakura's dress! It's a cloud from the Akatsuki robe!" Naruto yelled at Tsunade. His voice sounded so broken, so defeated. "This piece of paper states that she didn't put up a fight! The Sakura I know would have put up one heckuva a fight! The Sharingan paralyzed her and then they _killed her."_

Tsunade's eyes skimmed the report of the room and then she looked at the cloth. "How stupid I've been." Tsunade put her hands over her eyes and sighed. "How could we not have seen this before?"

She looked up suddenly, her eyes red and moist, and looked at Hinata. "Hinata, tell Kakashi I want to see him and tell Shizune to fetch Kiba and Shikamaru on your way out then come back here immediately."

"Hai," Hinata said and then burst from the room.

Tsunade brought her attention back to Naruto whose hands were still on the desk. His head was hung low in defeat as his entire body shook from grief and anger.

"Naruto," Tsunade said placing her hand on his. "We're going to strike Akatsuki_. _This ends _now_."

**Ha ha, I killed Kabuto. That makes me happy. See - :D**

**Yeah, yeah, it's obvious who the girl is and stuff... Kind of meant to be surprise, but not at the same time... That makes no sense, right?**

**Rate and Review! The review button enjoys being clicked on :)**


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

"No! No no no no _no_!" Sasuke heard the girl exclaiming as a door slammed open and he saw her storming into the main portion if the cave where he had been leisurely throwing kunai at the ceiling.

"The point of a punishment is not for you to be happy with it; though, you should be glad that I didn't choose something more _severe_," Madara said enjoyment at some sick joke he had made evident in his voice.

"You know you couldn't have thought of something worse if you tried!"

"I'm afraid this is the price you must pay for your desertion-"

"It wasn't a _desertion_!" the girl exclaimed. "I told you, I didn't take the death well, and I needed time off before I returned or I would be a detriment to Akatsuki!"

"And I told you it was a good excuse, but I still don't entirely trust you again. Especially after your Kabuto mishap."

"But you trust me enough to seat me with your little _pet_?" She seemed to feel no remorse for the Kabuto "incident."

Sasuke stiffened. She had been referring to him as someone of pet status earlier... Madara wouldn't have...

Madara turned towards Sasuke and beckoned him over.

"Sasuke, allow me to introduce you to your new-"

"We've already met," the girl sneered.

"I meant properly."

_"We've already met,_" the girl growled. Sasuke wouldn't have been surprised if she was actually a dog underneath that hood.

"That may be, but he's never been introduced to _you_."

Sasuke was squinting at the girl's hood. Was he supposed to care who she was?

Madara grabbed the girl's arm, ignoring her protests. "Sasuke, this is your new personal servant. She must do whatever you ask of her."

How was this a punishment? Because he had to put up with the girl's "charming" personality? "I don't want a servant."

"Well, you have one. You have disobeyed my orders, so now you have a servant," Madara countered. "And before you think you can go without seeing her or giving her orders, there are a few conditions."

He held up a single finger. "Condition number one: You are required to give her at least one command a day that she _must," _he squeezed the girl's arm sensing her defiant attitude, "obey unless it contradicts any orders I have given her. Second: she's not aloud to leave your room until you or I say so."

Sasuke was beginning to wonder how this was punishment to him. He could handle two seconds with her.

"Third: she cannot leave until you have given her one command. Fourth: any commands given to her after the first are optional and she doesn't have to obey them."

Sasuke began glaring at Madara. What was he playing at?

"And finally, the fifth command," Madara reached up to the girl's hood and pulled it down. "You cannot command her to injure or kill herself in anyway."

Sasuke hardly took in the fifth command. He was glaring at the girl's face. He knew that face very well and he finally understood why it was punishment for him as well. The face had matured and had slight differences, but it was her all the same.

The supposedly _dead_ Sakura Haruno was in front of him and glaring defiantly in his direction.

* * *

The door burst open and a very frantic looking Hinata entered followed by a perplexed Kakashi, Shikamaru, and Kiba.

"Good, you're all here," Tsunade greeted.

"What's going on?" Kiba asked not missing a beat. Kakashi noted that he was always the first, other than Naruto, to start asking questions and take action.

"I've called you all here to form an assassination squad. Given all of your expertise you fit the bill for this mission," Tsunade began. "Kiba, with your's and Akamaru's noses you should be able to track the quarry quickly. Shikamaru, your logical brain and strategizing skills will be useful. Kakashi and Hinata-" Hinata seemed surprised that she was actually part of the squad. "- your ocular jutsus will come in handy. And Naruto, you know very well why you're here."

The five being addressed nodded. Kakashi glanced over at Naruto upon the mention of him and noticed his stance. His hands were balled up tightly and Kakashi wouldn't have been surprised if Naruto started drawing blood. His head was turned down towards the ground and his face was covered by his hair.

"I'll warn you now, there is emotional attachment to this mission." Kakashi's attention was pulled back to Tsunade. "If you think you will be unable to deal with having an emotional attachment to a mission I advise you to leave the room before I go any further," Tsunade eyed everyone in the room and when she was sure no one would be leaving she continued. "Your mission is the assassination of Madara Uchiha and, if you come into contact with him, Kabuto."

No one seemed to know how to react. They had seen it coming, but why now? And why would there be any sort of emotional attachment to this mission?

Kakashi watched as Tsunade took a deep breath and glancing quickly at Naruto before continuing before continuing. Kakashi glanced at Naruto as well; he seemed to be too quiet. "We're not just assassinating him to end the cold war. We have found evidence against him that he is responsible for the murder of Sakura Haruno."

Kakashi turned to look at Naruto's reaction. He stayed stoic and gave nothing away. Kakashi had been wondering why Naruto was so quiet - he was usually nothing but excitement when receiving a mission - and now he knew. Why had he been so blind as to not guess it was Madara responsible for Sakura's death before?

Hinata was worried about Naruto. He hadn't said a word this whole time. He had only stared blankly at the corner of Tsunade's desk. There was a look in his eyes as well that she had never seen before.

She didn't like it.

Tsunade's booming voice called everyone's attention back to her. "If you fail this mission I can assure you that the cold war will quickly become a real war. You leave tomorrow. Dismissed."

Kiba and Shikamaru nodded and left and Naruto followed soundlessly after them. Kakashi and Hinata seemed hesitant and both looked as though they wanted to say something.

"I'm guessing we're all thinking the same thing," Tsunade sighed as she sank into her chair and rubbed her fingers on her temple.

Kakashi nodded slowly while Hinata looked close to tears.

Kakashi was the first to voice their fears. "It's Naruto."

Tsunade nodded and Hinata wiped at her eyes.

"I-I've never seen him like this, Lady Tsunade. Before, when we first discovered who was responsible, he almost had one tail," Hinata sounded truly frightened. "He hasn't let that happen in _years_!"

Tsunade nodded.

"His eyes..." Kakashi murmured.

"You saw it, too?" Tsunade asked. Kakashi nodded gravely and let out a long sigh.

"They're just as they used to be when he was little. Naruto's eyes are beginning to look exactly like Sasuke's," Kakashi finally announced what they all had noticed.

"I'm sure you both understand why that is a big concern. I have half a mind to not let him go, but I know that would result in him being angrier," Tsunade said. "I'm relying on both of you to watch him on this mission and make _sure _he doesn't do anything stupid."

* * *

Sasuke had immediately turned on his heel and began walking away. He _refused _to let Madara have his way with this.

"You have no choice, Sasuke," Madara announced lazily. "She has a seal on her arm."

Sasuke turned back around and saw a seal on her bicep. He looked up at her face and shot her a death glare. She responded with one full of just as much loathing.

Her hair was longer and pulled to the side in a messy pony-tail. she had bangs and a lot of layers that were falling messily out. Her hair contained a black streak and, right next to it, a green streak a darker shade than her eyes. The thought caused him to look at her eyes, they were surrounded with dark eye-liner causing them to pop in a strange way.

Most people would have called her eerily beautiful. Sasuke wasn't most people, though.

"Her seal has no affect on me," Sasuke scoffed and turned to leave.

"You'll find her seal affects you just as much as it does her," Madara called after Sasuke.

Sasuke slammed the door to his room. He wanted to leave and hit something or someone again, but that was just what Madara expected him to do. He wasn't going to play into Madara's hands and he certainly wasn't going to play his little game.

He heard a breeze and turned around only to find Sakura sitting cross-legged on his floor and looking ticked.

"Look, I know we both hate each other, and I know we both hate this situation, so just give me a minuscule command and then I can leave," Sakura said in a miffed tone. "We'll both be happy."

Sasuke didn't believe that she hated him or that she hated the situation, in fact, he was betting she was actually quite glad to be in it. The thought caused him to glare a hole through her head.

"Oh my. Your glare is so frightening. I'm terrified. Ah," Sakura droned out sarcastically while blowing a piece of hair out of her face.

Sasuke twitched and threw a kunai at her. The kunai fell harmlessly to the floor.

He was sure she hadn't moved to stop it.

"The seal prevents you from killing me just as much as it prevents me from killing you."

"Hn," Sasuke responded and turned to his bed. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Sakura roll her eyes.

"Just give me a command already," Sakura sighed.

"No," Sasuke said. He smirked at her obviously annoyed huff. How the tables had turned. If he wasn't allowed to kill her he might as well make her life as miserable as his was.

* * *

Sakura was lying with her back on the floor and he legs up on the door. She had a string attached to the end of a kunai and was continuously throwing it into the door and yanking it back out. Every time the kunai made contact with the wooden door it made a thunk noise. Sakura continued to lazily throw the kunai at the door hoping that the noise irritated the man sleeping in the bed on the other side of the room.

_Thunk thunk thunk..._

She fought the urge to yawn. She had been awake for twenty-four hours now, but she was _not _going to fall asleep in Sasuke's room.

_Thunk thunk thunk..._

It would not be a wise decision.

_Thunk thunk thunk..._

"Knock it off," she heard a voice hiss from the bed. She smiled to herself. Mission accomplished - he was ticked.

"I have to pas the time somehow. I'm not allowed to leave _remember?_" Sakura said lazily.

_Thunk thunk thunk..._

"Most people pass the time at night by sleeping," Sasuke growled.

"I'm not going to fall asleep in enemy territory," Sakura responded. "Just give me a command and I'll leave."

_Thunk thunk thunk..._

_Thunk thunk thunk..._

After a short pause Sasuke finally responded. "Fine, I command that you can't sleep until twenty-four hours from now. Now, get out of my sight."

Sakura stood up and smirked. "I'm a medic-nin, do you really think that I can't handle going twenty-four hours without sleep?" With that she left the room and strode down the hall. She let out a sigh. She had already been without sleep for a full twenty-four hours, she could handle a little more, right?

**By the way. I do not own Naruto... And stuff...**

**This chapter is kind of meh... It's one of those necessary semi-filler things... Sigh...**

**The next one should be better :)**


	5. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Sakura suppressed yawn for possibly the hundredth time that day. She had gone into Sasuke's room exactly twenty-four hours after the first command. He had been asleep and irritatedly responded that she would have to go _another _twenty-four hours without sleep. She tallied the number in her head and came up to a grand total of sixty-six hours without sleep.

She groaned inwardly as another yawn tried to make its way to the surface. She readjusted the strap of the bag she was carrying on her shoulder and stomped her way to the training grounds. Sixty-six hours without sleep was not going to keep her from training!

When she got to a secluded area in the woods she threw her pack down and began practices her forms. She moved fluently from one form to another, constricting her muscles at the correct times and adding the correct amount of balance. At every form she would let out a short, "Hya!" and move onto the next one.

She felt the tiredness itching at her eyes and she rubbed them in hopes of getting rid of it. It was an empty hope so she began rapidly punching a tree and performing ten squats every fifty punches. She sort of missed the days when she would train with other members of the Akatsuki and wondered if Sasuke would train with her if she asked him-

She gave her cheeks a few slaps to rid herself of the thought. Was she so tired that she was resorting to thinking of asking Sasuke to train with her? Sure she had never liked training alone, but she would rather ask Zetsu than _Sasuke. _

She rubbed at her tired eyes frustratedly as she mis-aimed with a punch and injured her wrist slightly.

She let her thoughts wander again after she quickly healed her wrist and continued with the exercise. She vaguely wondered why Sasuke wanted her to go without sleep? He must have been trying to make her miserable or weakened as some sort of revenge. Everything was always about revenge and strength with him. Any time he could prove someone to be weak he would.

She found herself thinking back on what he had said about only considering four girls to be strong. She snorted at his sexist point of view.

Come to think of it, she had guessed who three of the girls were, but who was the fourth? She didn't particularly care about Sasuke's opinion on that matter, but she didn't like not knowing information like that. It irked her

Sakura gave her cheeks a few slaps in an attempt to wake herself up more. Why was she even thinking about that? Was she really _that_ tired? The slaps did nothing to wake her up and instead she accidentally punched the tree down.

"Sakura," a voice greeted behind her.

Sakura turned on her heel and gave a slight bow of her head, "Madara."

"I've come to inform you of a little... Event, you could say," Sakura watched as he leaned up against a tree and plucked a leaf from a limb. His tone of voice suggested it was more than just a "little" event.

"What is this event?" Sakura asked as she sat down on the grass and leaned up against a tree wishing that she could just _sleep. _She began to drift a little and felt a burning sensation from where her seal was. She opened her eyes again and gave Madara her full attention.

Madara looked down at her and she could almost picture a sneer. His face was as big of a mystery as Kakashi's. Sakura had always been curious as to what Kakashi's face looked like underneath the mask-

She shook her head to get herself to focus on the situation at hand.

"Are you sure you're up to it? You look a little pale," Madara noted. His voice did not contain a hint of real concern.

"I'm fine," Sakura said waving a hand at him. "besides, what do I need to be up to doing?"

"Zetsu will be returning from a journey soon," Madara began.

"What kind if journey?" Sakura cut in.

"The recruiting kind," Madara answered as he began to pace back and forth in front of Sakura. "He and the few hundred people he recruited ran into some trouble on the way back and will be needing some healing upon their return this afternoon. Since you're the only medic-nin I have, it will be _your_ job to heal them."

"A few _hundred_?" Sakura groaned.

"Is that a problem? Don't tell me you've gotten weak the two years you were gone?"

"No," Sakura protested. "I was just surprised Zetsu recruited that many people. He's not the best negotiator after all."

Usually healing that many people _wouldn't_ have been any trouble, but she had been sixty-six hours without sleep and that made anyone's chakra level low.

Madara left and Sakura let out a sigh. This was not going to be fun.

* * *

Sasuke was ticked. It was easy for him to believe that Madara would do this, but the fact that he had made him even angrier. He didn't want to be seated with the weak little girl he had been stuck with on his genin team again. He didn't care what anyone claimed; she was still weak and useless and he intended to prove that with how she reacted to being forty-eight hours without sleep.

Usually that would be a peace of cake for any ninja.

He had been sitting completely still since sunrise was was beginning to feel uncomfortable, but no one said training was supposed to be comfortable. His ears and nose were plugged with pieces of rubber and he kept his eyes shut tight. He was training to use only chakra as his means of sensing his surroundings in case his sight, hearing, and sense of smell were taken away from him.

Something had moved into his "chakra radar" and caught his attention. That something was a rather large amount of exhausted chakra signatures. He deepened his chakra senses and counted about five hundred wounded people

These must have been the recruits Sakura was supposed to be healing this afternoon. Sasuke smirked; this was going to be interesting. She had been without sleep for at least forty-eight hours and now she had to heal five hundred people? This was the failure of hers he had been waiting for and he wasn't going to miss it.

He opened his eyes, took out the plugs, and made his way to where Sakura would be healing them. He opened the door and saw her staring out a window wistfully.

"What do you want?" she spat. He ignored her and sat cross-legged on a table. "I'm going to need that table."

He decided not to respond and instead smirked while crossing his arms.

"Good answer," Sakura snorted. She had dark purple circles under her eyes and Sasuke guessed that she had actually been more than forty-eight hours without sleep. Yes, this was going to be enjoyable.

The door burst open and Sakura went into medic mode. She completely fazed out anything that was not her patients.

"Form a line!" She commanded to the people all trying to barge into the door at once. The group obeyed and formed a surprisingly orderly line. She began with the first man and kept a steady, quick pace all the way up to somewhere in the three hundreds. Sasuke noticed an obvious dip in her stamina then. He activated his Sharingan and smirked when he saw that she was nearly out of chakra. Would she continue on and pass out, or would she quit?

Her chakra signature was like a candle on its last leg. The light was slowly ebbing away until it gave a short sputter and died out. Sasuke gave a satisfied smirk when at the 463rd man she tipped forward and fell unconscious on the man's chest. The man smiled in a questionable way and was about to put his hand on Sakura when Madara appeared and threw the man away.

The man smacked up against the wall and fell unconscious at Sasuke's feet.

"Hn," Sasuke said addressing Madara. "I knew she was still as weak as ev-"

"Shut your mouth before I rip it off, boy," Madara growled.

Sasuke jumped to his feet, Sharingan activated. He could feel a prickling sensation coming from where his curse seal used to be.

"Are you _threatening_ me?" Madara seethed. Sasuke soon found himself held up against a wall with Madara's hand wrapped around his throat. "You call a girl that managed to heal 463 men of some rather serious injuries when she had a depleted chakra supply because she had been three days without sleep _weak_?"

Sasuke said nothing but glared defiantly back at Madara.

"I specifically remember telling you that you couldn't give her any commands that would injure or kill her," Madara recalled.

"I didn't," Sasuke coughed out trying to make his voice sound commanding.

"Going three days without sleep is an injury to any ninja. She is my only medic and is very important to Akatsuki if we want to win the war," Madara spat.

"I only commanded her to go two-"

"You make the mistake of harming her strength _physically_ again and you will regret it," Madara warned releasing Sasuke.

Sasuke slid to the floor panting and clutching at his neck

"Why do you even care about her well being?" Sasuke asked looking at Sakura's unconscious form in disgust.

"She has inherited certain... Abilities," Madara said in a purposefully vague way.

"As far as I know nothing special has ever come from the Haruno clan."

"Well, then you know very little. Take her to her room."

Sasuke watched as Madara left. He thought momentarily on the way Madara had said not to _physically _hurt her. He smirked, a plan formulating in his head on how he would expose Sakura for who she really was.

He stood up and left the room without giving Sakura a second thought.

* * *

She woke up quite aware of a head-ache. She was in her bed but had no recollection as to how she got there.

She sat up and had to hold her forehead as it throbbed. She turned and saw a note from Madara.

_Consider your 102˚ temperature an excuse to skip your duties today._

Sakura let out a long breath as she sank back into her pillows. 102˚? She felt the seriousness of her illness becoming more obvious as various places began aching.

At least she could finally get some sleep. Perhaps the sickness was a blessing in disguise. She could gather her thoughts and form a strategy.

**Yeah, I know, this is another filler chapter where important things are laced in. This story will get moving soon I promise! After all, Sasuke is formulating a plan to prove Sakura's weaknesses and Sakura has to form a strategy for some reason, right?**

**Reviews are appreciated as usual! Feel free to ask questions, believe it or not your questions sometimes give me ideas to add to the story :)**

**Big thanks to Ne0nAngel, LadyMartel4000, Katkat024, Minji-Kitty for reviewing, favoriting, and alerting my story :) You guys rawk!**


	6. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Sasuke drummed his fingers idly on his desk. He was glad that while Sakura was sick she was not being thrust into his company. He could finally make plans against Konoha. Madara was stalling. Why, Sasuke wasn't sure of, but he needed to act without Madara. It was time for him to secretly plot against Konoha.

He wracked his brain for a good plan, but was drawing a blank. Every time he would try to think about it, he would think of Konoha and then think of Sakura being a member of the Akatsuki and how unbelievable that was.

If she was that weak when he knew her at twelve how in the world was she even on the Akatsuki? Akatsuki didn't just accept anyone off the streets that had left their village. When they had been on a team together she had had excellent chakra control but that was about the extent of her abilities. Excellent chakra control didn't get you on the Akatsuki.

Had she really been a good ninja the whole time he knew her? Madara didn't show charity to people. So, if she really was a skilled ninja, why hide it?

Her personality was completely different as well. She had gone from love to disdain. Did that make her a hypocrite or a good actor? If a good actor, then which was the act and why was she acting in the first place?

He had to figure out someway to get her to tell him or show him who she truly was. He didn't really care what the answer was, but he wasn't going to able to think about his attack on Konoha without it. Sakura had always been a nuisance to him, and the sooner he got rid of her the better

* * *

Naruto sped quickly along the limbs of the trees they were traveling on. He was frustrated to say the least. His team seemed to be moving at a snail's pace. Couldn't they go faster and take fewer breaks? He could go without eating lunch or breakfast, so everyone else should be able to! They were following a lead that the Akatsuki - more importantly _Madara - were spotted in the woods west of a very small village just south of Suna. The lead hadn't looked too trustworthy. His hair was greasy, his eyes resembling a weasel, all of his teeth were surprisingly still intact, but looked as though they could fall out any second. His face had been covered in pimples and inconsistent facial hair. To sum him up he looked like a sleazy man._

Kakashi had warned everyone that the lead was most likely fake and to be prepared for some sort of trap. They couldn't rule out the possibility that he was on the Akatsuki's side. Naruto had been so focused on following any lead he wasn't being particularly cautious, so Kakashi's warning flew right over his head.

Naruto's foot landed on a rotted branch. It gave-way under his weight, and he had to react quickly to avoid falling twenty feet down and landing flat on his face.

"Naruto!" he heard Hinata cry from above him. He twitched slightly and grit his teeth. She had been very clingy - he supposed was the accurate word for her behavior - this whole mission. "I'm fi-" he was about to yell irritably back, but a kunai flying in his direction stopped him short.

Hinata had been warning him, not showing concern.

He dove to the side and was blown forward as the paper bomb attached tot he hilt exploded. His ears were pounding as he got back to his feet. He shook his head trying to get a grasp on the situation.

Kiba and Shikamaru had been on the tree that was blown up. Hinata was following Kakashi's directions and going towards where Kiba and Shikamaru had flown. Kakashi had just jumped down to Naruto's side.

"Four o'clock," Kakashi instructed while dropping to a squat to avoid another paper bomb kunai. Naruto managed to grab the hilt and throw back in the direction it had come from. A man jumped up from a bush to avoid the explosion. He landed twenty feet to the left of Naruto and Kakashi and threw two more paper bomb kunai.

"What is with this guy and explosions?" Naruto growled as he and Kakashi dove out of the way again. Naruto flash-stepped behind the ninja and swiped his feet. This ninja was an amateur at best. As soon as the man's back hit the ground Naruto was on top of him with a kunai pressed against the man's neck.

"Why did you attack us?" Naruto demanded. He didn't have to wait for an answer as he spotted the red cloud that the Akatsuki followers pinned to their clothing. Naruto let out a feral growl and began punching the man in the face. "Where are the Akatsuki hiding?"

"We're everywhere," the man managed to get out.

"The _real Akatsuki!" Naruto yelled. "Madara. Where is he?"_

The man didn't answer so Naruto continued to beat him senseless.

"Where is he?"

"Last I heard their hideout was just north of Amegakure in some cave under a mountain. That's all I know, I swear!"

"Were you involved in Sakura's death?" Naruto demanded. Somewhere in the back of his mind a small voice whispered that Madara had done it alone.

"I-I don't know who that is!" the man shouted as Naruto continued to beat him.

"Naruto!" he heard Kakashi shout, but he ignored him and continued to punch the man. He could feel the familiar tingle of the nine-tails chakra taking over. One little punch from this chakra and the man would be dead, and Naruto would be one step closer to avenging Sakura's death. The nine-tail's voice whispered to him telling him it would be so easy, and Naruto agreed. He could feel the chakra focus into his fist and-

"Naruto!" Kakashi yelled. "That is _enough." Naruto was thrown off the man by Kakashi. He had a brief thought about pushing Kakashi off and killing the man. He looked at Kakashi and what he saw there made him freeze. Naruto caught a familiar glint in Kakashi's eye that had been there after Sasuke's defect. The same sadness. The same disappointment._

He looked around and noticed his other teammates had returned. Hinata was crying, Kiba looked frightened, Shikamaru concerned.

Naruto looked down at his hands and began shaking.

What was he becoming?

* * *

Sasuke walked into his room later the next day only to find the object of his loathing standing and awaiting a command. She was clearly no longer sick and had to go back to following his orders.

Her arms were crossed and she was leaning up against the foot of his bed looking incredibly annoyed. In Sasuke's opinion he was the only one here that had reason to be annoyed. She was probably jumping with joy at the thought of being in his room and in his presence.

The thought made him consider what he had been thinking of the other day. He decided now wasn't the time to act on his plan, but he had to tell her to do _something, so he could get her out of his room._

He considered his options. He was about to go train and he needed his weapons sharpened. He could have her do that so he could train his weaponry skills later in the week.

"Sharpen my weapons," Sasuke commanded before walking out the door. The less time he had to spend with her the better.

He heard a sigh before closing the door behind him.

* * *

When he returned later that evening he found her lying on the bed and staring up at the ceiling. He looked around for the weapons she had sharpened and only saw two kunai next to her.

"Where are the rest of them?" Sasuke asked. She looked at him and then went back to staring at the ceiling.

"I sharpened two," Sakura said. He could tell she was finding ways to be defiant after the passing out incident. "You didn't specify how many. You only said weapons. I assumed that since it was pluralized you meant more than one, so I sharpened two," with this she held up two fingers.

"Sharpen the rest of them," Sasuke commanded.

"All of your commands become optional after the first so, no," Sakura responded.

Sasuke wasn't going to give her the satisfaction of an annoyed response, so he sat down at his desk and began reading reports that Juugo had sent from the village in Oto they were trying to take over. He wasn't going to let her leave until she did what he wanted either.

A great amount of time spent in silence passed.

"You know," Sakura began and he could tell she was trying to annoy him, "They say your room color says a lot about you," Sasuke vaguely wondered who "they" was. "You don't have one, so that says you don't care about things appealing to the eye. You're boring, an introvert, rarely do anything enjoyable, focused in a way that makes you blind to the things around you... Shall I go on?"

"Do what you want," Sasuke sighed.

"Another command? I'll choose to accept this extra one," Sakura got up and made her way towards the door.

"Where are you going?"

"You said I could do what I wanted, so I'm leaving."

"You are to stay until I say you can leave."

"But that would be contradicting your other command, and I choose not to follow that extra command anyway. Remember, they become optional after the first one. Tah!"

Sasuke broke the pencil that had been in his hand. He decided tomorrow would be the perfect time to have her train with him, and he would carry out his plan then.

She would regret this tomorrow.

**I'll have a long chapter eventually...**

**Thanks to LadyMartel4000, xSmittenKittenx, and Ladyrouge214! You guys rawk!**

**Review? Maybe? Pwease?**

**The Fuzz**


	7. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Sasuke had woken up early the next day and made his way towards the back room of the cave. He didn't like going here often as he usually left irritated and in an even worse mood when he left, but Sakura's blatant defiance yesterday had provoked him into taking measures that would ensure she wouldn't try to disobey him again.

Sasuke never did like it when people blatantly went against his commands. Suigetsu would try to, but Sasuke quickly taught him how things went. Juugo was always on his side, and he could deal with Karin pretending to disobey as long as she pulled through in the end.

He raised his hand to knock, but prevented himself from doing so. His Mother had engraved it in his head that you should always knock on a closed door before entering. He debated just opening the door, but a familiar nagging in the back of his head prevented him from doing it. He let his hand rap on the door and then entered without waiting for permission.

"Ah, Sasuke, what brings you here?" Madara asked already awake and looking over reports on his desk. He could always tell it was Sasuke by the fact that he actually knocked. "Usually I have to drag you in here or just go to your room instead." He glanced up at Sasuke, probably trying to guess what Sasuke was there for by judging his expression, and then looked back down at his papers. "If this is about releasing Sakura from your service the answer is 'no,'"

Sasuke leaned casually up against a wall and then let his head rest on the wall as well. He closed his eyes and decided to let Madara figure out his guess was wrong on his own.

"Stop wasting my time and tell me what you want," Madara said after a few seconds of silence.

"I want you to have Sakura teach me medical jutsu," Sasuke answered.

"Why? Haven't you already almost mastered medical jutsu?" Madara asked skimming through his reports and trying to find a specific one.

"That's not important," Sasuke replied.

"Just command her to teach it to you," Madara suggested.

Sasuke shook his head. "I need to command her to do something else today."

Through his mask Sasuke could tell Madara was raising an eyebrow.

"I'm quite busy at the moment, Sasuke," Madara said searching his desk for something. "I also have a mission for Sakura soon."

"I'm just asking you to write her a note telling her she has to teach me medical technique and make it sound as if I have never been taught it before," Sasuke said walking to Madara's desk and sitting on the chair opposite him. "It will only be for today."

"I can't imagine why on earth you need to, but fine," Madara said grabbing a blank sheet of paper and scribbling a note on it. He read it over quickly and then handed it to Sasuke. Sasuke stood up and made his way to the door, but was stopped by Madara's voice. "Whatever punishment you're about to give her, just remember you can't harm her physically."

Sasuke turned to Madara with a smirk on his face before leaving the room.

* * *

Sakura stretched out her arms when she woke up the next morning. A grin broke across her face when she remembered what had happened yesterday. She had beat Sasuke. Well, it wasn't a battle, but she had still outsmarted him and that was a good feeling.

She threw the blankets off of her legs and got out of the bed. She made her way towards the bathroom and got ready for the day. After getting dressed she made her way towards the door and was about to leave to report to Madara when she saw a note tacked there. Well that meant she didn't have to report to him at least.

_ Sakura,_

_ You'll be thrilled to know that you'll be helping Sasuke brush up on his medical jutsu today. He has never learned and I would like him to know the basics before this war actually starts._

Sakura crumpled the paper in her hand. "Oh, yeah," she grumbled, "just absolutely _thrilled._"

She threw the paper across the room trying to relieve some of the frustration she was feeling upon hearing this news. She took a few deep breaths and was about to head over to Sasuke's room when her door was kicked open.

A very upset looking Sasuke was found leaning against the doorway with his arms crossed and a note similar to hers in his hand.

"I suppose you're here for the healing lesson I'm supposed to giving you," Sakura said pointing out the obvious.

He didn't respond and, instead, made his way to her bed and sat down on it.

"I'm going to go ahead and assume you know absolutely nothing about medical jutsu like Madara said," Sakura said walking to her bed and sitting next to him.

He didn't respond again.

"Didn't think so," Sakura said interpreting his silence. "You always were the kind of ninja that only focused on getting stronger in your fighting."

Sasuke made no response to her baiting, so she continued. "Right, I'm going to give you a little cut on your arm and you'll need to heal it by using healing chakra."

Sakura made a point not to tell him how to make healing chakra. If he was such a smart Uchiha then he could figure it out on his own. She moved to make a small cut on his arm, but her grabbed her hand to stop her.

"Do you honestly think I'm going to let you cut me?" Sasuke asked raising an eyebrow at her.

Sakura pulled her hand out of his grip with a, "fine," and instead cut her own arm without a moments hesitation

"Let's see if you can heal it," Sakura said indicating to the cut on her arm. It was only kind of deep, but it was still a complicated cut to heal. She had cut across the line of cleavage, meaning a scar would be left unless you had some basic understanding of medical jutsu.

Sasuke looked at her with a face that said, "Are you serious? This couldn't be easier."

Within a matter of seconds Sasuke had a green chakra surrounding his hands. He placed it on her arm, and Sakura saw out of the corner of her eye that he was staring at her face and not her arm. Was he expecting her to blush or something?

She looked down when she felt the familiar prickle that her skin was quickly healing She couldn't help when a little "wow" left her lips. Maybe there was something to being an Uchiha. She quickly shook the thought from her head and looked back at him.

"I don't just train with a sword, Sakura," Sasuke monotoned.

Sakura inspected her wound. It was reddish and a bruise was forming. There was a scab, and it also looked as though she would have a scar if she didn't heal it, but overall it was a job well done. Way better than she expected.

"There is slight bruising and what looks to be a scar forming. Though, I must say, you did better than I expected, since I didn't expect you to do anything at all. This is academy student level healing at best, so I suppose I shouldn't have been too surprised."

She grabbed her kunai again and proceeded to cut her thigh and side. Was she imagining the smirk she saw him form? "These are a little more complicated to heal. Let's see if you can handle them."

Sasuke did as instructed and did the same healing job as he had done on her arm. Bruising, a scab, and the looking's of a scar. She nodded in a way that was meant to say good job and was about to put her hand on her thigh and heal it when Sasuke grabbed her hand to stop her.

"I command you to train with me today _without _healing your wound," Sasuke ordered. He released her hand and got off the bed, hands in his pockets. She blinked at he was already out the door. She felt the familiar burning on her arm that made her follow his commands.

She stood up to go outside to the training ground and felt a sting on her thigh, arm, and side. She looked down at her leg and grimaced.

Sasuke had done a poor job healing her wound on purpose.

* * *

Awkward.

That was probably the best way Naruto could explain the situation he was in right now. No one had said anything since the incident and they were all avoiding looking at him. Even Hinata was pretending he wasn't there! He couldn't make light of the situation by making a joke or anything either. There was nothing comical with what had just happened.

The look in Kakashi's eye that Naruto had seen earlier was quickly wiped away with the speed expected of a ninja, and Kakashi had gone into leader mode once again. Kakashi had shouted some commands and everyone had started moving again.

Naruto was trying to keep his mind focused on the mission and not on what had just happened. He hadn't let the nine-tails take control like that in a long time. Heck, he had actually been _considering _what the nine-tails had suggested to him!

He wasn't entirely sure what was happening with him, but he did know this:

He didn't like it.

* * *

Sasuke was already at the training grounds when Sakura got there ten minutes later. She was very cautious to not let her guard down. Sasuke hadn't asked her to train with him just because he got lonely. The smirk she saw when she had cut her thigh and side, the poor healing job, and the command not to heal it. She had a bad feeling about this training session.

Sasuke turned to her in acknowledgement of her presence and crossed his arms. She was getting really tired of the arm crossing thing.

"What are the rules for this training session?" Sakura asked. Underneath all of her caution and bad feelings she was kind of excited. She hadn't trained with anybody in a long time. It had actually been a few years. Her last two years had been very draining and the mission she had given herself was time consuming as well. If she didn't let her guard down, this would actually be kind of fun. She also had to remember not to go all out... If she did - she shook her head. Now was not the time.

"Anything goes," Sasuke answered. "Except, Genjutsu."

Sakura was surprised. He must have known she was skilled with Genjutsu, but even so, she was no match for a Sharingan user. Why would he give himself that handicap as well?

"Go," Sasuke said pulling Sakura out of her train of thought. She had to dodge quickly as Sasuke already had a large fireball plowing towards her. She jumped into a tree and heard a gust of wind as Sasuke appeared behind her about to bring his sword down on her. She quickly dropped from the tree limb she was on and grabbed it with her hands. She swung herself onto another branch and had to immediately drop from that one when lightning was shot towards her. She heard the familiar chirping of birds and dove for the ground before Sasuke could hit her with his Chidori.

She sprinted towards a thicker area of the trees where she could maybe get the upper hand. Before she got to the woods she was ducking again before Kusanagi could cut her head off. She rolled to the side and pushed herself up with her hands and made her way into the trees again.

Sasuke wasn't allowing her any time to play offense.

She weaved between the trees, a plan forming in her head. She had used a similar move when she was with Sasuke on a mission. He would probably remember it, but she was crossing her fingers that he wouldn't. As she wove between the trees she placed paper bombs on some of them. She had made a full circle and proceeded to jumping to the very top of the tree in the middle. She knew Sasuke had been right behind her, but she didn't know he was literally_ right behind her_!

He went old-school on her and used his Lion's Barrage. The breath was knocked out of her, and she was hurtling to the ground at a very dangerous speed. She saw something whiz past her ear and caught a glimpse of a paper bomb.

Sakura let out a curse and tried to right herself, so she could get out of the way of the explosion. She grabbed onto a branch and then immediately pounced up into the air. The explosion sounded and she could feel the force of it push her higher into the air.

After a few second she was falling again, this time purposefully. She grabbed a branch and landed lightly onto the ground. She couldn't see anything. There was too much smoke. She ran in one direction hoping to get out of the smoke, but she felt herself get kicked in the thigh - hard. She saw red and knew Sasuke had the upper hand at the moment with his Sharingan. She felt something oozing down her leg and guessed that her wound had opened.

She dodged a few more of Sasuke's attacks while concentrating chakra into her fist. While she managed to dodge very well she couldn't see very well and that allowed Sasuke to reopen the wounds on her side and arm as well. Sasuke wasn't giving her anytime to breath, much less dodge all of his attacks. She brought her fist down to the ground and watched as Sasuke jumped away from the huge crater giving her enough time to jump out of the smoke. She pulled a tree out of the ground and intended to use it as a baseball bat, but Sasuke used his fire style to remove it from the equation. She couldn't help but think that Sasuke was also holding back in this fight. She had seem him fight many times and knew he was far more skilled than this. Was he holding back just because he still thought she was an annoying little girl?

She felt a familiar tingle at her eyes and fingertips. She had to resist the urge to go all out. Sasuke couldn't know about _that_, not yet.

The breath was knocked out of her when Sasuke dove onto her and pinned her effectively to the ground. She tried to struggle, but he drove his knee into her injured thigh, effectively stopping her.

She glared at him and resisted the urge to spit in his smug face.

"Weak, just as I thought," Sasuke said.

This time Sakura did spit in his face. "You know _nothing _about me!"

"I know that you're weak," Sasuke responded, "and that is all I need to know about anyone. I don't know how you were allowed to be in the Akatsuki, but I suggest you leave and go back to your precious Konoha."

She could tell he was surprised when she smirked. "You think you know so much Sasuke, but you really don't know anything. Your like a little boy that has convinced himself he knows all there is to know, when really he hasn't learned the smallest thing about life. Naive is the best word to describe you."

"I am not-"

"Your so blinded you don't even see that Madara has you wrapped around his finger. You can't even hurt me because of his command!"

Sasuke squeezed the cut on her arm, and making sure his nails dug into it, while pushing his knee even harder onto her thigh.

"You forget. I _own _you. One command from me and I _can _hurt you and I _can _make you regret your defiance."

"How? You weren't even allowed to hurt me severely during this spar because of Madara's command! You can do _nothing _to me."

Sasuke suddenly leaned down and she felt him kissing her neck and jaw while his hand snaked around her waist, and she froze.

He wouldn't- He dug his other hand onto the cut on her side and she lost her train of thought because of the pain.

His lisp made their way to the corner of her mouth, and she could feel him smirk against her skin.

He pulled away with a glare on his face and leaned in close again, this time to her ear. His warm breath tickled her ear, and she tried to pull away. "I don't need weapons to hurt you. I don't need jutsu, and I don't need my fists. There are other ways to hurt a person other than physical pain."

Sakura blinked and he was gone. She sat up and began shaking. She didn't know when she had started crying, but she felt the tears cascading down her face.

For the first time in four years, Sakura Haruno was scared.

**That's right people! This was a fast update! I have pretty much had this chapter in mind since I started the story and I am excited to finally have it out!**

**I know, I know, the chapter still isn't that long... I don't think I'm good at writing long chapters.**

**My last chapter was probably my most popular one, so a huuuge thanks to those that made it so popular: Ash2000, peppermintginger, MuffinYum, TwistedxWhispers, X. summergrey .X (I had to put spaces in your name because it kept cutting your name out), Your Hoshi, arravis, rainfurr26, aisling28XxX, LadyMartel4000, ChibiVampireQueen, and all you other people that read it but didn't review or story alert or favorite! You guys RAWK! All of the alerts I got about this chapter made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside :)**

**The Fuzz \|/ (Bonus points for anyone that knows what the symbol is)**


	8. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: I don't own **_**Naruto**_**.**

**I dedicate this chapter to my faithful reviewer LadyMartel4000 (That's right, faithfully review and I may dedicate a chapter to **_**you**_**next)**

Chapter 7

She was definitely different around him. Every time she was in his room to receive a command she would avoid eye contact. If he took a while to give her one she would start fidgeting with her clothing. Whenever he would begin giving her the command she would give a little flinch. He was glad that she had learned her lesson.

She was not being so obviously rebellious, that much was true, and she was submitting to him for now, but there was still that mischievous twinkle in her eye. Like she was planning something and she was only scared and submissive for now. He didn't have too much time to dwell on it as Madara had assigned a mission to the pair of them soon after the incident.

"I need you to teach a group of recruits medical jutsu," Madara said after Sasuke and Sakura had come into his office to receive their mission. She glanced at Sasuke briefly at the mention of medical jutsu, but then gave her full attention back to Madara. The glance did not go unnoticed by Madara.

Sasuke knew Madara was curious as to what Sasuke had done to Sakura to make her more submissive to him, but he never asked. Sasuke doubted he would've told Madara even if he did ask.

"I'm short-handed on medic-nin given the fact that you are my only one," Madara continued. "It will be very useful in the war to have more than one medic-nin. I would have done this a long time ago, but someone decided to go off on her own little adventure."

Sakura twitched realizing Madara still refused to believe that it was for everyone's supposed good that she had left when she did. Sasuke was glad she had been gone when he first joined, and he wished she still _was _gone.

"Where is the location?" Sakura asked ignoring the obvious jab.

"The hideout just north of Amegakure," Madara responded. Sakura nodded in response, but a little stiffer than before. Sasuke assumed it had something to do with the running away comment. "Oh, and, Sakura, if you should meet anyone, do not engage in combat."

"Should I meet anyone?" Sakura asked. Madara shrugged, and she was dismissed leaving only Sasuke and Madara in the room.

"So, what am I here for?" Sasuke asked.

"You're going to escort her and be her body guard," Madara revealed.

"If she's on the Akatsuki she shouldn't need a body guard," Sasuke responded.

"The Akatsuki travel in groups of two, and as the rest of Akatsuki are away on their own jobs, you're the only one left. And, like I said before, Sakura is special and I can't afford to lose her," Madara said opening some drawers and placing papers in specific folders.

"You make her sound like some sort of treasure," Sasuke snorted.

"In some ways she is," Madara said off-handedly. "Anyway, the main reason you need to go with her is because we believe that that location has been leaked to outsiders. If someone should show up, you and her would need to take care of them."

"So your main reason for this mission is to make sure that location is still secure?" Sasuke asked.

"Yes, but I do need medic-nin before the war and this is just killing two birds with one stone," Madara explained. "You leave tomorrow, dismissed."

Sasuke gave a stiff nod and began leaving the room before Madara stopped him.

"Oh, and Sasuke. You are not to engage either."

"Didn't you say to take care of anyone that showed up?" Sasuke drawled.

"Take care of their memory," Madara clarified. "There are other ways of handling an enemy, Sasuke."

Sasuke gave no sign that he heard him and left the room. He was not looking forward to a three day trip with only Sakura for company. He would rather spend a mission with Zetsu or Karin.

Speaking of Karin she should be due back any week now... Sasuke was vaguely curious how she would take the arrival of a new female. Especially when the female used to know Sasuke and was held in higher regard by Madara than Karin was.

* * *

Sasuke found Sakura already at the mouth of the cave the next day. She was leaning up against the side of the cave wall and glaring at the other side. She turned her head slightly when she sensed Sasuke, and then she picked up her pack and started walking. Sasuke walked a little faster so he could be in front and then slowed his pace. He heard Sakura snort behind him.

"Something amuses you?" Sasuke ground out as he continued his steady pace.

"I just find it funny that you're so insecure about your leadership that you have to prove you have it by walking in the lead. If you had any real leadership I would've just let you be in the lead without question."

Madara had warned him that Sakura was likely to be more vocal during this trip because Sasuke's commands became powerless when they were not in the cave with Madara. She had given him an opening though. He smirked as he took the opportunity. "Hn, you may say that, but you inadvertently admitted that you think I'm a leader. You're letting me stay in the lead without question, aren't you?"

He tilted his head partially to see her reaction. Outwardly she showed no sign of his words affecting her, but her lined eyes changed minutely to reveal something he couldn't place his finger on.

She smirked and responded, "Now you're trying to seek reassurance from me. It's somewhat pathetic."

Sasuke could feel lightning spark at his fingertips. It would be so easy... "Hold you're tongue, Sakura, or I'll burn it off."

"How? You aren't allowed to harm me," Sakura sniffed.

"There are ways around every seal."

"And I doubt you know the way around this one..." She muttered to herself. She didn't mean for Sasuke to hear it, but he did nonetheless. He grabbed her upper arm and pulled her up against him.

"I thought we already established that I knew _one _way around this seal already," Sasuke growled.

Sakura visibly paled before responding, "You have no power over me here."

"I don't need your forced obedience. Though, I would prefer waiting to punish you for your behavior until we get back," Sasuke threatened, "then you would have no choice."

"You'll forget," she said confidently.

"I have a good memory," Sasuke said releasing his grip on her and moving onward.

"Belive me, Sasuke, _you'll forget_," she murmured.

Even though she couldn't see it, Sasuke raised his eyebrow in questioning.

* * *

Somehow they had made it to the rest point without saying another word to each other. Something about the way she had said he would forget didn't quite sit right with him. What was she planning exactly?

"What's up with you?" Sakura asked breaking the silence as she set out her bedroll. "The only thing you've done since this morning is glare and brood. Oh, wait... That's how you usually are."

Alright. He would play her game. "I'm 'glaring and brooding' because my least favorite part of Konoha has followed me when I thought I left her a clear message that I didn't want her to come along," Sasuke responded hoping for a reaction; a crack in her facade.

He didn't get one.

"Technically I was in Akatsuki first," Sakura responded.

"And why is that?" Sasuke voiced, unable to hold back the question. "You had no notable skill when I left you."

"I'm more skilled than you know," Sakura added.

"Nor did you have reason to defect, unless it was just to follow me like some lovesick puppy," Sasuke bit out.

She let out a laugh - not the reaction he was expecting. "Why would I have followed you? Don't answer that... You are right though, there _are _other reasons for defecting a village other than hate, and mine was out of love, but I assure you it wasn't for you."

Sasuke's glare intensified. "And that is what proves you are nothing but a weak kunoichi from a half-baked village."

"The half-baked village that your clan comes from. Oh, and half of your list of notable kunoichi. So, now that we've established it wasn't because of my village, which part proves that I'm weak? The part about leaving out of love or because I didn't leave for you?"

"Love makes a person weak," Sasuke responded ignoring her provocation.

"And yet you want to destroy Konoha out of love for your brother. Interesting."

"It's different-"

"How so? There are many forms of love, but they all have the same beginning. And how can you say that hate is stronger than love? You can't have hate without love, but you can have love without hate. Your hate for your brother was intense because you loved him before your family's death. How can something be stronger than where it originated from?"

"Because love was always weak. Hate was just an improvement."

"Bull crap. You fight so hard against love, but all of your fights have been because of love. You loved your family, so you hated Itachi because of what he did to them. You love Itachi, so now you hate the village because of what they made him do. Your love of power drove you to try to kill your best friend... I'm preaching to the choir aren't I? But know this: Itachi loved Konoha, so he was willing to do what he did for it."

"You don't-"

"-Know him? You forget that I have been a part of Akatsuki since I was fourteen. There are a lot of things I know about him that you don't."

Sasuke had Chidori charged to his hand before he even thought about it. He lunged at Sakura in the blink of an eye, but was blocked by some invisible wall.

"Like I said, you don't know the way around my seal," Sakura said, her face set into a look of boredom.

Sasuke cursed loudly and redirected his Chidori towards a tree. He stomped into the forest without a single thought of returning to her anytime soon.

**Two Days Later**

What did you find out?" Kiba asked as Kakashi and Shikamaru took two chairs and moved them to the cafe table they were sitting at. It was under an awning and provided much wanted protection from the rain.

"Apparently that base has been abandoned for two years since Madara suspected its whereabouts had been leaked," Shikamaru explained.

"So we came all this way for nothing?" Kiba asked slamming a fist onto the table and shaking all of the items strewn across it.

Kakashi shook his head slowly and continued for Shikamaru, "It's been abandoned for two years now, but there are rumors spreading of inhabitants being there again. The most notable rumors have been saying the inhabitants are about thirty in number. Two of them have been described as 'A Sharingan Man' and someone titled 'Akatsuki's Thunder.'"

Everyone at the table grew silent. They now knew that this base had the possibility of containing either Sasuke or Madara and some Akatsuki member they knew nothing about. Without realizing it, four pairs of eyes slid to Naruto who was unfocusedly staring at a window. Hinata looked down and saw wood being clawed under his fingernails.

No one was happy about the news.

**Yes, I realize I haven't updated in a while, but I gave up **** for a month because of personal reasons. I hope the argument between Sasuke and Sakura was enough to placate yus guys! It was lots of fun to write and I hope you enjoyed it! Since all has gone according to plan, I already have the next THREE chapters written for yu guys! I think it's three...**

**Thanks for your patience! And a BIG thank you to: bemine8, Karumi-Uchiha-Haruno, XxReddShadowxX, LadyMartel4000, and MoniqueLove! YU GUYS RAWK THE TUBE SOX OFF OF DA WORLD!**

**So, how are you guys liking SasuSakuMonth so far? If you haven't even heard of it **_**GOCHECKITOUT! **_**I submitted three stories *wipes nails on shirt in pride* All of which are probably lame... I'm new at oneshots cut me some slack. I'll be positing them soonish, but if you're interested I submitted them for the 4th, 11th, and 16th**

**Reviews are never frowned upon here :) - I must always include one smiley.**

**The Fuzz \|/**


	9. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: I do not own **_**Naruto**_

Chapter 8

"Alright guys," Sakura started, clapping her hands to get the attention of her trainees, "it's becoming increasingly obvious that none of you have any previous medical-jutsu knowledge."

There was a collective groan from the group as if they thought they could get away with not having any knowledge of what they were studying.

"It's okay," Sakura said cheerily. "I wasn't put as the head medic-nin of the Aktsuki for nothing! I can whip you guys into shape to where you'll be comparable to top medic-ninja."

There was a small, unenthusiastic cheer from the group.

"More enthusiasm guys, I want to believe I'm actually doing my job for a reason," Sakura sighed. One man clapped. "...Thank you..."

Sasuke sat leaning up against the mouth of the cave. The rain that was currently pouring in Ame caused the river to flow faster meaning the waterfall was splashing him more than it usually would. He didn't mind though, it helped clear his head, and boy did it need clearing...

He was trying not to dwell on what Sakura has said about there being a lot of things she knew about Itachi that he didn't. She was just trying to get into his head. But, he couldn't stop thinking about it. His brain wanted to figure out the mystery behind his words and trying to figure it out was just _frustraing_. He knew his brother. He _knew _what his brother would want for him to do. Sakura was just an assuming - _annoying -_ female that didn't have a filter between her brain and her mouth.

But what if she_ did _know something about his brother that he didn't-

He scrunched his hair up in his hands and leaned his head under the waterfall. He needed to stop thinking like that. He _knew _his brother!

Maybe that was just it. He _knew _his brother, but he didn't _know _his brother at the end.

This time he fully submerged himself in the water and let his Chidori course through the water. He couldn't lose focus if he didn't want to be electrocuted.

Because those were exactly the kind of thoughts he _didn't _want going through his head.

"Okay, let's try this again," Sakura said for possibly the hundredth time that day. "Focus a small but strong amount of chakra into your hand. Then you mold it into a more compact chakra."

Sakura watched as the trainees attempted it. She smiled when she saw a couple actually manage to turn their chakra into green healing chakra. "Very good! You guys are getting better and better, just keep trying until our next training session tomorrow.

She stretched as she stood up and followed her trainees out of the room. She vaguely wondered where Sasuke was. She hadn't seen him since their argument a few days ago. She knew he had continued seperately to the hideout and not gone back to where Madara was. Free-willed as he claimed to be, he still couldn't disobey Madara's orders. The fact that he was purposfully avoiding her meant she had struck some nerve. She was okay with that, it meant she didn't have to deal with him for two whole days and it also meant that her plan was working.

Hinata couldn't help but think that if Naruto paced anymore he would start making a little indention on the hardwood floor, which would be a shame because it was such a pretty stain.

"How can they just confine me to this room? _It's ridiculous!" _Naruto finally burst. He had been told not to leave the room while the rest of the team scouted out the hideout. Hinata had been chosen to stay behind and babysit him like he was some child, and that added to his pile of frustrations.

He was so on edge all of the time now and he just wanted to do something about it! Maybe beat someone up, or get some revenge. Because, the most frustrating part was that at that cave there was either someone he would _really _want to beat up and drag his sorry butt back to Konoha, or there was somebody there that he needed to show you didn't mess with any of his friends.

Revenge would have been just swell.

Kiba squinted towards the waterfall trying to see into it through the heavy downpour of rain. He glared over at Kakashi who was using the Sharingan to complete the task easily Well, they couldn't all have special ocular jutsu.

He turned to Shikamaru to give some snarky comment and saw that he was asleep. He couldn't blame the guy. Shikamaru had to watch Naruto the whole of the previous night, and the heavy rain would make anyone sleepy. He was surprised Shikamaru had even lasted _this_ long. Well, there went his only complaining buddy. Kakashi may have been lazy most days, but when it came to missions he was quite serious.

He sniffed his nose in a frustrated sort of way and was surprised when he actually caught a whiff of something through the copious amounts of water. He nudged Shikamaru awake. He caught Kakashi's eye and pointed to the mouth of the waterfall where they could see two outlines of people.

"I recognize the scent," Kiba whispered. "No, scents... Wait just one scent... Agh..." Kiba muttered a curse on the water under his breath while he rubbed his nose.

"Do you know who both of them are or not?" Shikamaru whispered back.

"I can't tell," Kiba answered. "I know one for sure, but the other one... It's like it's covered with some kind of block. The occasional whiff I'm getting is definitely familiar..." He took a stronger sniff and froze. "One's Sasuke. The other smells like..." He took another sniff. "It's gone again."

"Why would they want to put a block over their scent? It's not like they're trying to lose a trace," Kakashi said aloud.

Kiba shrugged while Shikamaru stayed concentrated on the two people. "What should we do?" Kiba asked.

Kakashi shrugged. "One thing is certain," He whispered. "We keep the knowledge that Sasuke is here a secret from Naruto."

"Right," both Kiba and Shikamaru responded.

"Hey," Shikamaru whispered, "They're coming out."

Kiba inhaled. For some reason he had a feeling they would get caught.

All three pairs of eyes narrowed as they tried to see through the waterfall better. They didn't squint for long when Sasuke stepped out from behind the waterfall.

"Sasuke!" A definitely feminine voice called out. Sasuke visibly stiffened and refused to turn around. The owner of the voice stepped out from behind the waterfall wearing an Akatsuki cloak with the traditional hat covering her face.

"Can you tell who it is?" Shikamaru mouthed to Kakashi who just shook his head in response. It must have been the member known as Akatsuki's Thunder.

"Are you going to be a little useful this trip or do I need to do everything myself?" the girl asked clearly frustrated.

"I wasn't assigned to teach them, that's your job," Sasuke responded. "I was told to do nothing but watch your incapable back against my will."

"Still obediently following Madara I see," the girl mocked.

Sasuke finally turned towards the girl. "You've pushed me almost to my limits this mission. I'll warn you now not to push me any further or I _will _find a way to physically harm you."

"Do I look intimidated to you?" the girl asked. Kiba, Shikamaru, and Kakashi honestly didn't know, but they assumed she wasn't. Sasuke simply brushed past her and into the woods surrounding the area. The girl let out a frustrated sigh and brought a hand up to her hat. Shikamaru, Kakashi, and Kiba waited with baited breath. Was she going to take it off? Her hand froze unexpectedly and she turned directly to where they were situated. The three held their breath and froze completely. They had to hold back a sharp intake of breath when the girl's eyes became visible through the tassles.

They were most definitely an easily recognizable shade of red.

Kakashi signaled for them to leave and they were gone without a trace.

"_Oh crap oh crap oh crap oh crap oh crap," _Sakura thought over and over in her head as she paced in the cave. What were _they _doing here? Why here of all places in the world? What made the situation worse is that they saw her and Sasuke! They also saw her- no. There was a possibility that they didn't see it.

Everything else aside the fact that they were here complicated things _immensely_. She would have to move carefully from here on out. She couldn't leave the cave. Another question came to mind. Should she tell Sasuke?

No. That was easy to answer. She couldn't let him find out at all costs.

"_Oh crap," _She thought to herself again.

Sasuke wondered aimlessly through the forest with no set destination in mind. There was a town a little ways off, but he had no intention of going to it. He let out a frustrated sigh as he ran a hand through his hair.

Why was he letting Sakura get to him like this? Was it because she was really twenty times more annoying or was it just because her appearance, added to his frustration with Madara, was making him on edge all the time and completely at a loss for what he should do. He thought he had everything figured out; that he was in control of his own life.

Then Sakura showed up and proved he didn't. Her jabs about him being under Madara were becoming increasingly more obviously true. He couldn't get rid of her, and he couldn't start his attack on Konoha without Madara's help.

He was confused...

Kakashi entered the hotel room they were staying in and was greeted with a sign he had not been expecting. Tables were overturned the beds were all messed up, the window was broken, and Hinata was lying unconscious on the floor.

The worst part was that Naruto was no where to be seen.

"Oh... Crap..." Kiba said upon entering the room.

Sasuke stuffed his hand in his pockets and continued on. He refused to dwell on the thought that he was confused. He was better than his confusion.

He didn't have to try and get his mind off the subject for very long when a punch was landed on his jaw. He flew fifteen feet and was stopped by a tree.

How had he not sensed someone's presence? Was he _that _out of it today? He got shakily to his feet and looked to see who his attacker was. He wiped the blood off his cheek and spit some out of his mouth as he identified his attacker.

Naruto...

**Aaaaaand that's a wrap! Kind of a jumpy chapter (point of view wise), but I think I like how it turned out. It's also a little short. I'm sorry. What do you guys think about Sasuke in this chapter? Did I do a halfway decent job of keeping him in character? (I'm pretty sure I fail in every chapter though...)**

**This chapter probably has the most "comedy" in it.**

**I think Kiba was probably the most fun part to write in this chapter.**

**A big MASSIVE thank yu to: sakuraharuno003, LadyMartel4000, sharkswillruledaWORLD, infinityXisXme, theheartstourniquet, blondebarbievamp, Awesome(My guest reviewer :)), CiiCiinREX, mishuu, and Twisted Musalih. RAWK ON YU GUYS!**

**The Fuzz \|/**


	10. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: I do not own ****_  
_**

**_Naruto_**

Chapter 9_  
_

Sakura took her kunai and dug it across a man's abdomen. "Heal it," she commanded to one of the trainees. The trainee looked frightened and shocked that she had actually done that to the man. He scrambled to his feet and made his way quickly to his comrade.

"Relax," she said gently. "It's nothing serious."

The man nodded and began to calm down. Green chakra formed around his hands and the man's wound began to close up. Sakura couldn't help but feel proud of her trainees. They were progressing much faster than she ever thought they would. They had only been here, what? Almost a week?

She felt her hair begin to frizz before a large rumble shook the ground. Sakura turned her head in the direction Sasuke had stormed off to earlier. Hundreds of birds were flying away and a few trees fell down. "What the heck..." Sakura asked. The trainees turned their heads as well and listened as all of the birds crowed.

"Stay here," Sakura commanded as she started making her way towards the forest.

"Will you need back up?" A man asked.

"Just keep practicing, I'll be back soon," Sakura answered increasing her speed.

* * *

Naruto was behaving strangely. He was quiet. Usually Naruto would give a spiel to try and get Sasuke to come back, but he hadn't said a word since he got there. He had yelled, "Sasuke!" when he first got there, but that was about it.

His eyes were different as well. Almost the same as his own eyes. He smirked; truly skilled ninjas could understand the other just by exchanging blows. Perhaps Naruto finally understood that hate was stronger than love.

_You can't have hate without love, but you can have love without hate... How can something be stronger than where it originated from?_

He shook Sakura's words from his head. She was a naive girl, what did she know?

His attention was drawn back to the fight as Naruto's clones began attacking. Sasuke dodged them easily and defeated a few within a matter of seconds.

Sasuke charged Chirdori to his blade and sliced the remaining clones in half. Naruto came at Sasuke with a Rasengan. Sasuke dodged and came at Naruto with Kusanagi. They had fought each other so many times their battles seemed like a dance by now. A dance that always ended with Chidori and Rasengan. a dance with no conclusive victor.

"_That would change today,_" Sasuke couldn't help but think.

Sasuke and Naruto began charging at each other. Sasuke with Chidori, Naruto with Rasengan. Just as they almost made contact Sasuke was tackled to the ground by a very annoying girl. He had been so focused on the battle that he hadn't even noticed her arrival. He to stop letting people sneak up on him.

"Sakura," Sasuke growled as she pinned him down. "Get the heck off of me!"

"You're such an _idiot_!" Sakura yelled. "You have to fight everyone you meet just because you're feeling particularly annoyed that day! We had _orders _not to engage!"

"I'll ignore orders regarding letting him live no matter what the circumstance!" Sasuke shouted.

"Even if it means your death before you get your oh-so-precious revenge?" Sakura shouted. "You can't be happy, can you? Even after you've ripped happiness from every last person you will _still _lack happiness. You always have to have someone to blame! You are so determined to hate everyone and everything because you refuse to believe that no one is to blame."

Sasuke bucked her off and pinned her instead. "Do not even pretend to know what I've been through," Sasuke growled.

"I don't," Sakura responded. "But don't pretend you're the only in the world that has suffered. Never forget you're not the only one that lost something that day."

Sasuke was about to respond when a hoarse voice called out.

"S-Sakura...?"

Sakura's eyes widened and she struggled to free herself but Sasuke wouldn't relent.

"Wha-" Naruto began stumbling backwards. "How- What are you _wearing_?" Naruto asked referring to her Akatsuki robe.

Sakura closed her eyes, and Sasuke noted that a tear slid down her cheek. Why was Naruto so surprised to see her? Shouldn't he have known that she defected from Konoha?

"_Answer me_!" Naruto shouted too stunned to move from where he was. Sakura continued to try and free herself from Sasuke's grasp.

"Let go of me, Sasuke," she whispered her voice sounding so small.

"Why doesn't he know?" Sasuke asked.

"Let go of me!" Sakura shouted this time.

Without realizing he was doing it, he released his grip on Sakura. She scrambled out from under him and looked directly at Naruto as she backed away. "I'm sorry, Naruto... I'm so sorry..." With that she was gone. Sasuke felt the need to leave as well. He needed to get some answers from Sakura.

* * *

Naruto fell to his knees as he stared blankly in front of him. He felt the warm flow of tears on his cheeks. When had he started crying exactly? He had imagined a scenario in which Sakura was really alive many times, but never one like this. Never one where she was a member of the Akatsuki.

Was that why there was no apparent struggle when she was "killed?" Had she gone willingly?

"Naruto!" he heard Kakashi call out to him. "Naruto what the heck were you thinking? You knocked Hinata unconscious! That is unforgivable behavior."

Naruto turned to Kakashi slowly. He could tell Kakashi was taken aback by the tears flowing from Naruto's eyes. Naruto felt a familiar pulling in his gut and fought against it. He wasn't going to lose control, not now.

"Kakashi..." Naruto said weakly. Where had all of his strength gone?

"Naruto, what happened?" Kakashi said kneeling down and grasping Naruto's shoulders. Naruto wondered vaguely when he had fallen to his knees.

"She- He- They-"

"What?"

"She's alive Kakashi... Sakura's alive..."

"What?" Kakashi released Naruto and fell back in surprise. "You must have been seeing things."

Naruto shook his head. "I fought Sasuke and we were about to collide with the Rasengan and Chidori when she tackled him and started yelling at him. He didn't seem surprised to see her, in fact he seemed more surprised that I didn't know she was with him."

"What do you mean she was 'with him?'" Kakashi asked. It was ludicrous for them to be dating, but Naruto couldn't mean she was... Traveling with him... Could he?

"Kakashi, she was wearing an Akatsuki robe!" Naruto exclaimed.

"What?" Kakashi wondered how many more times he would ask that. "Surely you mistook the girl for Sakura."

"I wasn't seeing things Kakashi!" Naruto yelled suddenly furious. "She had pink hair and green eyes! She looked directly at me, called me by name, and apologized!"

"Naruto calm down," Kakashi ordered. "Why would she apologize?"

"I don't know..." Naruto whispered. He seemed suddenly drained of energy.

"This is news we cannot conceal from the Hokage," Kakashi said. "We have to leave immediately.

"What's wrong with you?" Naruto screamed. "Don't you have a heart? This is our teammate! Why are you like a cold, heartless statue? Didn't you care about her _at all_?"

For the first time ever, Kakashi hit Naruto out of anger.

"Do I look like I don't care to you, Naruto?" Kakashi asked and Naruto noticed his eyes were watery. "What good would it do to tell you that I feel like a failure upon finding out that another one of my students has defected and joined the Akatsuki? What good would it do to tell you that I considered all of you to be more than students to me and that it feels like one of my own children has stabbed me in the back? There are many times I wish I could show emotion on a mission, but if I didn't suck it up and take charge who else would? Yes, this is killing me inside, but it's our duty as Shinobi, Naruto. Our village comes first and not our own personal feelings, so I'm telling you now to stand up and follow me back to the hotel so we can get the others, one of which you so graciously left unconscious on the ground, and get back to Konoha."

**Poor Naruto and Kakashi! I feel like that scene could have been more heart-wrenching, but I'm not exactly good at making heart-wrenching scenes... Or fight scenes as I'm sure you guys have discovered.**

**What will Sasuke discover about Sakura? Hmm?**

**A gigantic thank you to the marvelous: OracleOfTheShadows, YuuriL, .X, BloodyGirl, griffindork93 (Your name made me smile), Xx4ying4yang4xX, Jasmine-.-Momo-chan, and TheBlackRose123 YU GUYS RAWK!**

**Have I ever mentioned that reviews make me happy? Because, OracleOfTheShadows, .X, and Jasmine-.-Momo-chan's reviews made me especially happy :) You should do the same.**

**The Fuzz \|/**


	11. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: Me no own ****  
****_Naruto_**

Chapter 10

Sasuke's eyebrow was visibly twitching, he was sure of it. He had hurried back to the base to catch Sakura and make her explain herself, but when he had gotten there she was gone. He had tried asking her trainees for information, but when he entered the room they either hid in a corner, avoided eye contact, or pretended he wasn't there! He had finally gotten one man to speak, but his answers weren't satisfying and he was surprised the man had ever graduated an academy.

He walked towards one of the ones hiding in a corner. They would give him the answers he needed. The man he had chosen twitched and then stiffened when he sensed that Sasuke was behind him. "Where is she?" Sasuke asked slowly.

The man visibly shook before answering. "She said that we could train on our own now and that she was going back to the main base to report to Madara-Sama."

Sasuke punched the wall next to him. She was definitely running from him. Whatever she was hiding, she didn't want him to find out about it.

* * *

Sakura took a deep breath upon entering the hideout. She had made it back easily and was glad to be back. She wouldn't say "home sweet home," because she didn't know a single person that would call this home or sweet.

Home... When was the last time she had one of those?

"_Answer me!" _Naruto's voice and expression kept replaying endlessly in her head like some sort of sick punishment.

She sank to her knees and fought back the urge to cry. She had not been expecting Naruto to show up and was unprepared when he did. She thought it was just Kakashi and a few others she never expected _him_ to-

"_Not helping yourself, Sakura," _she thought to herself. She stood back up and took a few deep breaths. She had always planned on running at some point, Naruto just helped her plan to be more convincing. She took another few breaths before marching towards Madara's room to give him a report.

"Sakura, back so soon?" Madara addressed as she entered the room. She couldn't tell if he was actually surprised underneath his mask or if he was smirking at some private joke.

"Yessir," Sakura responded. "The mission went well. The trainees learned quickly and are now training themselves."

"And where is Sasuke?" Madara asked.

Sakura shrugged. "I don't know."

Madara tilted his head to the side.

"What? Surprised that your pet is capable of thinking on his own?" Sakura bit out.

Madara shook his head and Sakura saw his shoulders shake in silent laughter.

"Tell me, Sakura, did you have any unexpected bumps during your mission?" Madara asked unable to hide the amusement in his voice.

Sakura's eyes narrowed. "You. You sneaky, little-"

The door burst open and Sakura straightened her back pretending to have been standing at attention. She turned her head slightly and saw a seething Sasuke.

"Ah, Sasuke, you did decide to come back," Madara said. Sasuke ignored him, walked up to Sakura, grabbed her arm, and practically dragged her out of the room.

Sakura had to fight the smirk that threatened to show on her face. Her plan was working.

* * *

Once he had arrived at the base, Sasuke had wasted no time in grabbing Sakura and taking her to his room. He didn't care if his grip on her arm was too tight, he didn't care if Madara would get the wrong idea, and he didn't care what was going through Sakura's head at that moment. All he cared about was getting his answers.

He kicked his door open and kicked it closed behind him. He then tossed Sakura onto his bed and wrapped his hand around her neck, pressing her further into the bed.

"I command you to tell me the truth about your past and who you are. No sarcastic answers, no lies, and no complaints. Just the truth of who you really are," Sasuke growled. He expected her to be a little intimidated. What he wasn't expecting, however, was that Sakura's face would break out into a smug smile like that was what she had been hoping he would command since she got there.

In fact, he now knew that she had been planning this from the beginning, and he had played right into her hand.

"Very well," Sakura agreed. "If you want to know who I am then I'll need to start from the beginning. When my clan was still alive in Amegakure."

**I know I know! This chapter was very very very short, but this was really all I could do to it because of when I wanted the cut off to be!**

**Thanks yu guys sooooo soooo much for reading this far! A super special thanks to: Vbabeofhearts, Blue305, OracleofShadows ( I heart you!), CibiVampireQueen, Yatogirl, Jasmine-.-Momo-chan, AngeloftheAurora, .x, VallyVAL, and all of you people that thought to yourself, "hey, I'm going to save this link," or, "hey, I'm going to keep this story in mind and return to look at the continuation." We can't all have accounts, can we? Well... I mean... We could... It's free and everything...**

**WARNING: The next chapter is going to be in first person, because it makes writing Sakura's past waaaaaaaaay easier. Except, it may be more third/first person because of how it will start. Let's just say the writing style is going to be weird for a while and leave it at that.**

**The Fuzz \|/**


	12. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer: I do not own ****_Naruto_**

**This chapter is dedicated to OracleOfTheShadows! Have I told you lately that you're awesome?**

Chapter 11

When hearing of a person's past it is always good to know the past before the past. Especially in respect to the Haruno clan. The Haruno's had faced many hardships through the years and overcome them all, but there was one trial that could not be beaten.

Many years ago the Harunos were a respectable clan living in Amegakure. In fact, they were the most well-known and respectable clan in Amegakure. You could ask any random person on the street - ninja or not - and they could tell you exactly who they were.  
They were so well known because they had a very special Kekkei Genkei that many coveted and were willing to kill for. It was strange in that only those that possessed it could pass it down from member to member. If you were a member of the clan, but didn'thave the Kekkei Genkei, you couldn't pass it down. The Harunos were being used, kidnapped, and tortured at this time. People would try to gain the ability by marrying into the family and hoping to have a child born with it. Many Harunos were being kidnapped and being forced to use their ability to help do their kidnappers bidding. Painful experiments were used on them to try and steal it from them, but it was quickly discovered to be unstealable.  
At this time the leader of the Haruno clan was Tasuku Haruno, and you can imagine the difficulties of leading at such a time. He overcame the difficulties easily after it was discovered the Kekkei Genkei couldn't be stolen from them Harunos. People settled instead to marrying into the family instead and there began to be a time of peace as the Harunos were almost forgotten.  
It is well known that peace never lasts long in the ninja world. The third great ninja war came crashing down on the people of Amegakure's heads and during the war ravishing, the Haruno's were rediscovered. War time is always a time of paranoia for people and instead of wanting the ability for themselves they wanted to rid the world of such a dangerous Kekkei Genkei.  
Most threats made during the war were forgotten afterwards and the Harunos believed that they had escaped by the skin of their teeth again.  
The new head of the clan was a wise but prideful man at that time named Aram. His pride would prove to be they Harunos' downfall. He had two sons the younger, Ruka, wanting nothing to do with leadership and glad he wasn't going to inherit any. He claimed it was just a means for people to blame someone.  
One day Aram was going through the reports of the day when a man burst into his room breathless and nearly dead on his feet. He looked to be possessed by something by the way he walked mindlessly into the room without awaiting permission.  
"Sir," he said, his voice reminding Aram of a zombiefied man more than anything.  
"Yes?" he said disinterestedly, being sure not to let his guard down.  
"I was given a note on my way home from a mission and was instructed to hand it to you."  
Aram extended his hand and snatched the note from the man's hands.  
_Dear Haruno Clan Leader, Aram,_  
_I have learned of your Kekkei Genkei and find it as nothing but a threat. So I am simply going to rid the world of it by the end of the month._  
Aram sneered at the letter and crumpled it up. Letter's like these were nothing but empty threats.  
"Father," he heard his youngest son, Ruka, call from another room before entering. "Father, Mother wants to..." Ruka trailed off as the letter was thrown in his direction. He caught it and uncrumpled it. "What is this?" he asked glancing at it.  
"Nothing but another silly threat," Aram answered leaning back in his chair.  
"Father, we haven't gotten a threat since the war," Ruka said furrowing his brow at the letter.  
"And all of them were never carried out."  
"But this one seems different. What are the initials U.M. and the end?"  
"Ruka, you're making a big deal out of nothing!" Aram barked.

"I'd hardly say I'm making a big deal out of thi-" The man that had given Aram the note suddenly collapsed and began convulsing on the floor.  
"Help!" Ruka shouted. "This man needs help now!"  
Elite ninja rushed into the room and dragged the man out while Ruka turned to his father. "Does this still look like nothing to you, Father?"  
"It is nothing but a coincidence, boy, now get out of my sight."

Ruka looked as though he would say something, but held his tongue and followed his father's order.

* * *

In a few short days the man had died of whatever ailment he had. The only thing the doctors could do was shake their heads in confusion. Whatever it was that had happened to him, the doctors had never seen anything like it before. Ruka tried to convince his father to at least look into the matter of whatever had happened to him, but his father remained stubborn and claimed it was only a coincidence.

Not three days after the man's death all of the doctors that had treated him developed the same sickness. Just as before, they all died. It was clear to Ruka that they had an epidemic on their hands and needed to get help from better doctors. Aram refused the idea of getting help and told Ruka the sickness wouldn't last long.

Ruka was outraged at his own Father's pride and stupidity, so he took his family and sought help in Konoha.

* * *

"Father," Aram's oldest son, Tadashi, was saying to Aram after another group had died from the sickness, "I'm just saying that you should consider the possibility that this sickness is a fatal epidemic that could wipe out the Haruno clan. I agree with Ruka, the threat couldn't have been coincidence if the person carrying the note came down with the sickness first."

"Tadashi, not you too," Aram sighed. "Your brother has always been foolish and jumped to conclusions. He was paranoid and thought everyone was trying to rid the world of us."

"Father you must consider, for the good of the clan, that-"

"How dare you tell me how to lead my clan!" Aram shouted. "I believe I have more knowledge and wisdom on how to lead a clan than you or Ruka!"

"Father, that's not what I was saying-"

"Leave my office. Now."

Tadashi sighed and shook his head at his father before leaving.

* * *

"It's getting worse," Ruka reported to Hiruzen, the Third Hokage. "Almost half of the clan has died from this disease. All with our Kekkei Genkei, non of the members born with the ability have been affected."

"I know," Hiruzen said rubbing his temples. "I'm afraid I can do nothing unless the head of the clan gives me permission."

"But they're dying!" Ruka shouted. "Why can't you do something when people are dying just because the head of the clan is too foolish and proud to do anything!"

"Ruka calm down-"

"How can I be calm? That's my family that's dying over there!" Ruka continued to shout. "They aren't just some random clan, they're important to me!"

A man burst into the room breathing heavily.

"Report!" Hiruzen commanded.

"Tadashi Haruno has died of the disease as well as his son."

Ruka's shouting stopped instantly. His legs gave way and he collapsed in his chair.

* * *

"Baby," Ruka said kneeling in front of his daughter, "Daddy and brother are going to bring the rest of your family home to safety. We'll be back, I promise." He kissed his four year old daughter on her large forehead, kissed his wife, and was out the door with his son in seconds. Aram had died that morning and he was leaving to bring the clan to the safety of Konoha.

**Is it just me or are these chapters getting shorter and shorter? I know, I fail.**

**I don't know about you, but I'm getting a little sick of the phrase Kekkei Genkei. I think it was said about a million times this chapter.**

**Thank yu to... ChibiVampireQueen, Neko the kawatta cat, CJ122, StephJoann, Anime-Freak-12280, Sakura Kimiko, rainfurr26, Chidori Ai, OracleOfTheShadows, hopefaith11, BloodyGirl, aaaaanndd summergreay.x (log in so I can respond!)! Yu guys are amazing! Really. You're all awesome! And give me the warm fuzzies every time you review and favorite and follow and such :)**

**Update! I'm changing my pen name to just "The Fuzz" and if the "The Fuzz" is unavailable then... There will be numbers after it or something...**

**The Fuzz \|/**


	13. Chapter 12

**I do not own **_**Naruto**_

Chapter 12

I was Ruka's daughter. He left and my mother and I were left to worry. However, our worries for my brother and him didn't last long before they were replaced by another fear.

Jiraiya had contacted Tsunade when he first heard of the disease. He knew that if anyone could figure out the mystery behind the it it would be Tsunade, and he knew that she loved a good mystery. She couldn't resist the offer to crack the code behind a sickness and came almost immediately after he had contacted her. She couldn't figure out how to heal it immediately, but what she did discover was that it was man-made and designed to only affect those with the Haruno Kekkei Genkei. That was dangerous, because if it managed to get rid of every Kekkei Genkei possessing Haruno, the clan would practically be extinct.

Before this was discovered my family always considered themselves lucky to have two kids born with the clan's power. But, the power was quickly turning into a curse. The disease was contracted in me and my health faded quickly. Tsunade still hadn't found a cure for the sickness, and I had only hours left before I died.

Obviously, she figured it out in time and I was saved, but not everyone in my family was as lucky. Something had happened that no one was telling me about.

Little things brought it to my attention. Mom's sudden instances of "butter-fingers." The quick wipes at her eyes as I entered. The soft echoes of sorrow heard through the walls at night. The pitying looks. I didn't know what was going on, but I hated everyone that had that pitying look in their eyes. It frustrated and aggravated me.

The mystery became known to me when my clan finally arrived from Ame. I rushed outside and waited patiently for my father to appear in the crowd, gather me in his arms, and spin me around like I weighed nothing. For my brother to say something sarcastic and ruffle my hair. The only thing I was greeted with was sadness. My father and brother had died of the illness on their way back. Not only that, but they were too late and I was now the only surviving member with my clan's Kekkei Genkei.

Everything became scrambled and tipped upside down at that point. I wasn't just the only Kekkei Genkei holder, but I was also technically the head of the clan. I wished that it would stay as "technically" but my clan's elders had other ideas. In all of the confusion our clan's elders were voting to instate me, the recently turned five year old girl that had just lost half of her family, as the clan's head and all the authority that entails.

I know, you're thinking, "What morons..." but what I haven't told you is I was a prodigy. I could do some things Genin couldn't and solve beginner Chuunin equations. But, it was still moronic nonetheless.

Things were becoming more final with each passing day, and the elders still seemed blind to the fact that I was five. So, I did what any child in my position would have done: I rain away. I may have been a prodigy, but I was still a kid.

My "missing-nin" trip lasted for a day. A search party was sent to find me. The ninja that found was an Anbu - apparently finding me was _very _important.

He didn't use force to bring me back. Instead, he just talked to me. He heard me out when no one else cared to even ask _me _how _I _felt about being head of the clan.

_"_Why did you run away?" I remember him asking.

_"_Because big people are mean, " I distinctly remember him laughing at my bluntness.

_"_How so?" he inquired.

_"_Because, they want me to be the clan's head. I don't want to be the clans head. I just want my daddy and Toshiro," I cried.

_"_Oh?" What happened to them?" he asked.

"Mommy says the disease that U.M. sent killed them like it almost killed me," I answered.

"Who is U.M.?" he asked.

I shrugged my shoulders. A pause began in which nothing was said.

"If I was to say I would try to fix this problem, would you come back with me?" The boy asked.

I shrugged my shoulders again.

"I can't promise you that I can fix it," he seemed to be thinking of his words carefully, "but I will try. In the event that I can't fix it, will you promise me you'll keep your head held high? I'll help you through your rough spots, that I _can _promise you."

_"_I nodded this time and stood up, ready to let him take me home.

_"_What's your name?" I asked.

_"_Itachi."

Itachi fixed everything in the end. He convinced my elders that as the only surviving Kekkei Genkei holder I should be kept secret and not put on display. Especially since someone was obviously trying to kill us. It was decided that the council would make decisions until I was eighteen and considered an adult that could handle the pressure.

Itachi kept his promise, and, even after the clan mess, he looked after me through my rough times. He was like the older brother I had lost. He trained with me in secret places and those were the only times I could let my true abilities show. I think one of the reasons I loved him so much was because he knew everything and he was the only person outside of my family I could share my secret with.

It wasn't easy to keep my abilities a secret. Many times at the academy I almost revealed it, but I knew that that would disappoint Itachi, so I restrained myself from showing off.

When I was seven, Itachi told me that someone was going to be training with us so I should wear a disguise. I put on a hat to cover my pink hair and wore a mask - much like Kakashi's. The someone ended up being you. You were quiet and shy then. You never said much to me, but I could feel your eyes on me as you watched me spar with Itachi.

I didn't know whether I should feel uncomfortable or honored that you thought I was good. That was a good day. All my fears and worriers were forgotten. At that moment I didn't have a man that was willing to kill me if I ever let slip I had the Kekkei Genkei. I wasn't part of a broken family.

I was Sakura. And at that moment, that was enough.

**Again, short... I can't help it! I like leaving you guys dangling from cliffs and this is the best way I can do that! I think there is only going to be one more chapter of Sakura's past.**

**Would you just look at that new pen name? For those of you who didn't know, I changed it.**

**Thank you to all you wonderful people that have read my story, but more specifically: Duda-Becker-chan, animegirl2014, OracleOfTheShadows, bbarbie325, WhereThereIsLoveThereIsLife, Macchama, and .X Yu guys rawk!**

**The Fuzz \|/**

**(There's going to be a hint about her Kekkei Genkei in the next chapter ;) )**


	14. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

As it can be assumed, the Haruno clan never did have much luck. The Uchiha clan, on the other hand, had the worst luck of all.

Not even two days after our training session Itachi came to my house and looked disheveled. I had never seen Itachi disheveled in my entire two years of knowing him, I didn't even know he could be disheveled! He always seemed unbeatable.

"Sakura," he said seriously looking me in the eye, "we need to talk."

I was scared. Itachi was scaring me. I wasn't worried he would do something to me, I was worried that something had happened to him. I took his hand and he lead me into the woods just outside my house.

"Sakura," he said again, this time I could hear the shake in his voice as he tried not to break down in front of me, "I hate to ask anything from you, and I fear that this will be too much for you to handle."

"Itachi," I said seriously grabbing his hand, "what's wrong? What's happened to you?"

He shook his head and cupped my head in his hands. "I cannot tell you anything or answer any questions you may have. I need you to listen carefully and follow my instructions as closely as you can."

I nodded my head and blinked back the tears that were trying to leak out.

"Tomorrow morning you will hear of a terrible crime that has been committed by me. I can't tell you why I will have done such a thing, but I can tell you that whatever reason you hear of me doing it for is a lie."

My head was spinning. I didn't know what he was talking about. "A crime? But, Itachi why-"

"Please, let me finish, Sakura," Itachi pleaded. "I need you to know that there was no other option and I did what I had to for the good of-" he stopped himself when he realized he was giving away too much information. "My younger brother, Sasuke, will want to come after me. He'll want to become stronger so he can kill me. He'll want revenge. Other people - bad people - will offer him the power to do so; you _cannot _let him accept evil power. You must keep him in the village so that he can become stronger here, surrounded by people that love him. One day, he will kill me, and I need you to ensure that he acquires the strength to do so so he will be considered a hero."

I began crying. Itachi was talking about revenge, and killing, and his own death! I didn't want that to happen. "But, Itachi!"

"Please, Sakura," Itachi begged. "This is all I can ask of you. Keep him here by any means necessary, but never let him know I asked you to."

"What exactly are you asking of me, Itachi?" I asked.

"I'm asking you, Sakura," Itachi said, "to lie to him. Feign affection, feign ignorance, feign weakness. Lie to him until you are no longer able. Keep him away from the influence of evil. If you should fail, then you may join me."

"Of course, Itachi," I nodded my head. "Of course I will."

Itachi pulled me into a tight hug. In a few moments, he was gone.

* * *

I woke up in the middle of the night to hurried footsteps and muffled cries. Pushing open my door, I ran downstairs and threw the front door open. People were running this way and that - all ninja. Some were crying and some were cursing under their breath.

"What's going on?" I asked a passing man.

"Kid, what are you doing out here?" he demanded. "This is no time to be running around outside." He picked me up and threw me back into my house before slamming the door shut.

My eyes watered. Could whatever have happened been what Itachi was talking about? I rushed upstairs to my mother's bedroom, but did not find her there. Panicking, I ran downstairs hoping to find her somewhere. When I got to the kitchen, I saw her looking out the window with tears running down her face. She turned when she heard me enter.

"Sakura?" she asked. "Sakura, sweetie, what are you doing up?"

"Mommy, what's going on?" my voice was breaking and my hands were shaking almost uncontrollably. She closed the curtains and made her way to me in three short steps.

"Sweetie, listen to me," my mother said wrapping her arms around Sakura. "Something awful has happened because of... Because of... Itachi."

I knew that! I felt like screaming, but Itachi's words replayed in my head. I just wanted to know _what _had happened!

"What happened, Mommy?" I asked still shaking uncontrollably. Whether it was from fear, anger, or sadness, I didn't know.

"Nothing's certain right now, Sakura, but we think that he may be responsible for the death of his entire family."

I froze in my mother's arms. I knew from experience that _anyone_ dying in your family was heart breaking, but _everybody_? The pain would be unbearable.

_"Sasuke will seek me out for revenge - to kill me."_

I couldn't understand. Why would Itachi doing something so... Heinous?

"Nothing is certain right now, so go back to bed, Sakura," My mother commanded. I silently obeyed. I wanted to be alone. Being alone meant I could think. Think about why Itachi would do this and tell me he wasn't the bad guy.

I didn't hear anything else the next morning. My mother said nothing, so I said nothing, but deep inside I was harboring hate. How could Itachi do this and then tell me he wasn't the bad guy? How could he do it to his brother?

On Monday school began and the event of the weekend was still on the forefront of everyone's minds. Many rumors had been started. Some blamed the event on Orochimaru, but that possibility was too hard to believe. To us in the academy, Orochimaru was like a myth. You always heard of evils he had done, but you never met anyone that had ever actually met him.

Itachi's name was thrown into the mud. Teachers were whispering to each other about the tragedy and stopping abruptly when a student got too close. Kids told stories of parents cursing Itachi throughout the weekend.

I looked to you, Sasuke, to see how you felt. Everyone seemed to be leaving the only survivor out of their stories. When I looked at you I saw a broken little boy, but below that I saw an intense hatred in your eyes. Even you, Itachi's brother, hated him. Not a single person looked on Itachi without hate anymore.

"_What must it feel like," _I wondered to myself, "_to be hated by everyone...?"_

I couldn't handle the idea. I could not - would not - believe that the man who helped me, made me feel special, treated me like his sister - that my _brother _would do something like this without a reason. He was a good man. He was the closest a ninja could get to being a pacifist! If he claimed the reason he had done was inescapable and for good, then I would believe him.

Even if no one else would, I was going to believe in Itachi Uchiha.

* * *

Pretending to be in love with you just so I could have an excuse to watch you and make sure you weren't planning on leaving was not an easy thing to do. You had grown cold and unfeeling. I was tempted on many occasions to punch you and tell you to get a grip on reality. To tell you that Itachi said he had done this for some sort of good and that you of all people should believe him! It was only by constant reminder that you were in the dark that I kept my mouth shut.

I kept my skills well hidden and only allowed them to be shown by being the smartest student in class. Knowledge was the only way I was allowed to let my skills be shown.

You may have guessed by now that it was rigged that I would be on your Genin team with Naruto and "The Copy Cat" ninja, Kakashi. I thought it was a laugh that I would be on the same team as Kakashi, the man that people sometimes thought was a descendent of my clan.

* * *

Only a few days prior to the forming of the Genin teams a crow tapped on my window. I found it strange that a crow would land on my window. My house was in the heart of the village and as far as you could get from the farming areas of Konoha. The crow tapped ferociously at the window and I finally opened it.

The crow looked me directly in the eye before extending its leg like a carrier pigeon or a messenger. I looked at its leg and saw a note. It was strange that someone would use a crow to send a message and not a hawk, but I took the note anyway. The crow gave me an affectionate nudge on the finger before flying away. I unfurled the note and read the simple two-word message.

_Beware Orochimaru._

Orochimaru. He was that guy who everyone considered nothing but myth, a means to prevent young ninja from going rogue or a threat to get children to clean their bedrooms. I wondered why someone would want to tell me to beware of him when the threat of him seemed so far away.

Another crow tapped on my window months later with a note that said:

_Uchiha Madara._

It wasn't hard for me to figure out what this one meant. The initials U.M. had haunted my family since the letter arrived. I crumpled the note in my hand and threw it on the wall in my anger.

* * *

You know what happened next. I failed. Orochimaru got to you because I had to pretend to be weak. I watched as you slowly succumbed to darkness and could do nothing about it. My world crumbled to pieces in a matter of seconds.

I shouted at you, I begged you, I declared fake affection and loyalty to you, but it was all in vain. In the end, you left, and I failed Itachi. It was the worst failure I had ever had.

Nothing could compare to the pain I felt.

* * *

I was shocked one day, months after you left, to find Itachi sitting casually on my bed. I rushed into his arms and cried. Apologies spewed from my mouth and he silenced them easily.

"It's okay," Itachi assured me. He forgave me even though I failed him.

He told me everything then. Why he had killed his family, who Madara was and how he nearly caused the destruction of the village by using the nine-tails to attack.

We faked my death and I was taken to join the Akatsuki. This was a delicate thing to do as we had to convince Madara that I didn't have my clan's Kekkei Genkei and was not the girl he was searching for.

Even after so many years of pretending and thinking I was finally free to be _me,_ I was still keeping secrets.

At the base Itachi and I prepared for his fight against you. He grew sick and I helped keep him healthy until your fight.

And then the time finally came for the two of you to fight

I nervously paced nearby while I waited for the fight to end, after what seemed like decades, I heard them, his last words. "I'm sorry Sasuke, this will be the last time." I tensed and ran towards the completed fight. I prayed that I got there in time.

"Itachi!" I cried running over and kneeling at his body. I laid over him and cried, like I did when you "died", but this time, it was real. I sat back up and wiped the tears away, I couldn't breakdown, not yet. I had to get you. I reached over and grabbed your hand. I wiped the tears away again as they started to cloud my vision.

I grabbed your arm and hoisted it over my shoulder, and your head rolled to your chest. I was greeted by a blow in the stomach that knocked the wind out of me. I flew back into the wall that bore the Uchiha symbol and clutched my stomach, breathing heavily, while you were banged up against the wall as well and fell back to the ground.

I looked forward, still clutching my stomach and saw that hateful orange mask, Tobi... I glared at him feeling weak, by the chakra glowing in his hand, I figured the blow had drained most of my chakra.

"Tobi," I growled spitting at his feet. He knocked me ten feet away with one back-handed hit. I scrambled to my feet as he walked toward you. I couldn't let him win here! As he reached down to you I slid on the wet surface and grabbed your leg, but was kicked in my stomach up against the wall and was held there by _his_ foot.

"I never did like you, Haruno," Tobi said lowly and letting the act I saw right through down. "I never liked any of the Harunos."

"Allow me to hide my diappointment," I breathed.

"You never should have been allowed to join..." Tobi said.

"Too bad I was, huh?" I smirked while kneeing his foot away and then punching his stomach, but he was unfazed. I dove for you, but he grapped my arm and threw me to the ground on top of Itachi. I yelled quite angry, frustrated, and weak. I tried to crawl towards you, but Tobi stepped on my back and stood on me, that was all I could take, for some reason I was completely worn out, I couldn't get to you.

"That's right, Haruno," he said twisting his foot painfully on my back, "stay in the dirt next to Itachi's remains where you belong."

I had never hated a man so much! I watched helplessly as he grabbed you and left. Tears swelled in my eyes and I hammered at the ground with my face down. My tears mixed with the dirt and created mud. Next time I saw _him_ it would be the last!

I had failed Itachi again.

I stayed in hiding for two years before coming back. I'm not entirely sure why Madara allowed me back, but I know he plans to strike me down soon enough.

* * *

Sasuke stared at the ceiling for a few minutes before sitting up. He got off the bed and just stood next to it.

"There's one more thing," Sakura said her voice behind him. "Itachi always told me that if you continued pursuing revenge even after his death, he would be _extremely _disappointed in you. He wanted you to be the hero, Sasuke, not the bad guy."

Sasuke walked toward the door and slammed it shut behind him.

Sakura sighed. He had not given her permission to leave. She was stuck there until the morning.

**Phew, thought I would never get this out... It's probably confusing, I'm sorry. If you have questions just ask me and I'll answer them and try to revise the confusion to make more sense.**

**There's a small hint in here of Sakura's Kekkei Genkei, can anybody find it?**

**A HUGE thank yu to: Gl0mP3R, Noir18, mun3litKnight, LadyMartel4000, OracleOfTheShadows, Neko the kawatta cat (your name makes me smile every time), Jade 36963, moonluver92, Wishing-On-Airplanes (can we pretend that airplanes in the night sky are like shooting stars- er... Sorry...), sakuraflowerstar, Sinister Blossom, .x, and RiverSilverClaw. Yu guys... Wait for it... RAWK!**

_*** POSSIBLE SPOILER ALERT IF YOU ARE NOT CAUGHT UP IN THE MANGA***_

**In light of certain discoveries we have made, my story A Blurred Past may not fit too well because of the whole Obito thing. Well I'm gonna keep it the same and not change it! I like how it's kind of like a, "I regret the decisions I've made and I want you to stop me," kind of thing. So... Yeah... I don't know if I'm going to have his identity be Madara or not now...**

**The Fuzz \|/**


	15. Chapter 14

**I do not own**

**_Naruto_**

Chapter 14

Karin was ecstatic, to put it simply. She was returning after what seemed like _years _of being separated from Sasuke. A devilish grin appeared on her face as she sauntered into the hideout. If Sasuke was still asleep she would surprise him with a good morning kiss! She giggled to herself at the thought. She just _knew _Sasuke had realized his love for her while she was gone, and he would be overjoyed at her greeting him after so long.

She pushed the door open silently, remembering that there was a squeak if the door was opened too quickly. She closed the door quietly behind her incase Sasuke wanted to greet her properly. The lump on the bed signified where Sasuke was sleeping. Grabbing hold of the covers she lowered them a little to get access to his face

* * *

Being awoken by a shriek was not on Sakura's list of things to do this morning. After realizing someone was yelling, she became aware of how cold she was suddenly cold because of the lack of covers. She groped around for them and finally settled on opening her eyes when she couldn't find them. She had been tuning out the senseless shrieking but finally tuned in on what the girl was yelling about.

"-whore! Who do you think you are?" the girl was yelling.

Not the best wake up call Sakura had ever had. Sakura sat up and looked the girl up and down. She wasn't practically dressed. He tight leather shorts and revealing top were hardly appropriate for the ninja lifestyle.

She raised an eyebrow as the girl called her a whore again. "Who are you calling a whore?" Sakura asked looking the girl up and down again.

"The girl that's sleeping in Sasuke-kun - _my _Sasuke-kun's - bed!" The girl shouted. Was she trying to make Sakura deaf?

Sakura opened her mouth to correct the girl, but thought better of it. Sometimes it just wasn't worth it. She shrugged and slid off the bed and walked unhurriedly to the door.

"Don't you walk away from me!" Karin screeched and a pillow whizzed by Sakura's head. Sakura looked behind her and shot Karin a death glare before closing the door behind her.

* * *

Sasuke sat with his chin resting on the palm of his hand. The wind whipped at his hair, but he ignored it. More pressing issues were on his mind. Just when he thought he finally knew everything there was to know about Itachi, something new was thrown into his face. How was he supposed to react to this news? Shake Sakura's hand and say, "Well done. Thanks for telling me. Now together we can take down the man responsible for your clan's death."

He scoffed. Even she knew how ridiculous that would have been. The only evidence he had that she was telling the truth was that she knew his brother's last words and that she couldn't disobey his commands. She showed no sign of being slightly skilled and he had never even had whiff of her having a Kekkei Genkei.

But there was the part about training with him. He remembered her the little girl with her hair stuffed into her hat. She was one of the ones that-

A shriek sounded from bellow pulling him from his thoughts, and he inwardly cringed. Karin was back. Sakura's pink head appeared underneath where he was sitting, and Karin followed closely behind her. Sakura was ignoring everything Karin was shouting at her and Sasuke was finding it increasingly difficult to do so as well.

It sounded like she was accusing Sakura of sleeping with him. Where had she gotten such a ridiculous notion?

"Would you just _shut up_ already?" Sakura burst turning on her heel and staring Karin down.

Karin looked taken aback but quickly recomposed her face to one of anger. "Why should I listen to anything _you _have to say?" Karin screamed back.

"Because I could kill you without lifting a finger," Sakura explained simply crossing her arms. "Now you could accept what I say about you being incorrect or I could put you in your place - which I assure you isn't even on the totem pole."

Karin hesitated for a moment before rushing forward. Karin was on her back unconscious in an instant, and Sasuke jumped to his feet a moment later. Sakura marched back inside unfazed by the entire encounter.

Sasuke leapt to the ground and followed after Sakura. He couldn't have seen what he thought he saw. He took two swift strides before grabbing Sakura's forearm and forcing her to turn around.

"_What the heck was that_," Sasuke demanded as Sakura looked about ready to punch him.

He couldn't have mistaken seeing a glint of red.

* * *

A gloomy Kakashi and Naruto in her office was not what Tsunade was expecting when she woke up this morning. They were back way earlier than she would have expected. Naruto looked ashamed but he also looked as if he was ready to rip her office apart all at the same time. It was hard to guess what Kakashi's expression meant; His only visible eye seemed void of any emotion.

"What's this about?" Tsunade asked briskly. It was too early to deal with an angry Naruto and an uncharacteristically serious Kakashi.

Naruto opened his mouth to say something, shut it, opened it again, and was silenced by Kakashi's hand on his shoulder. A few more moments of silence passed.

"I'm waiting," Tsunade barked. Her patience was not extremely high today.

Kakashi cleared his throat before trying to figure out where to start. "Tsunade," Kakashi finally began and Naruto flinched slightly as if he was about to get reprimanded. Tsunade raised a curious eyebrow urging him to continue. "Naruto and I would like a mission."

"What kind of mission?" Tsunade asked.

"Not really a mission, more permission to leave the village," Kakashi corrected himself.

"What for?" Tsunade questioned. She wasn't a pushover.

Naruto opened his mouth to say something to Kakashi, but Kakashi put his hand over Naruto's mouth. "We have a breakthrough in Sakura's case, but we need a two-man squad to proceed."

Tsunade stared at Kakashi. "How is this not a mission?"

"Some of the things we may do might not be," he paused as he searched for the right word, "sanctioned by the village."

"Kakashi, what are you planning?" Tsunade asked straight-forward.

"We may have discovered a new member of Akatsuki that is responsible for Sakura's death," Kakashi answered honestly.

"A new member?"

"The evidence isn't certain."

Tsunade pursed her lips before replying, "As far as anyone is concerned you and Naruto are doing reconnaissance."

Kakashi nodded, "Understood."

He left the room with a very confused Naruto behind him.

"Kakashi, why did you-"

"I'm not going to have Sakura labeled as a nukenin until we've heard the story."

Naruto nodded slowly, still confused.

"Get packed, we're leaving immediately," Kakashi ordered.

Naruto sprinted back to his house. The table was still broken and papers strewn across the floor. It was strange how quickly things changed. A few weeks ago he thought Sakura was dead. Now, he was wondering how she was alive and why she was with the Akatsuki.

* * *

"Tell me what I saw," Sasuke demanded grabbing Sakura's arm tightly. He could picture a bruise forming underneath his hand and held back the sadistic smirk that threatened to spread across his face.

"And why should I?" Sakura responded not cowering under his gaze or grip.

"Sakura, I command you to tell me," Sasuke growled.

"You'll find that that is the one command I cannot be forced to follow," Sakura responded not cowering under his gaze or grip. "I have spent my entire life hiding from that man. I am not going to let that all go to waste just because you got a little curious."

"Sakura, if I saw what I think I saw I'll-"

"What? Seek revenge on me? Try to kill me?" Sakura asked her voice mocking and her expression one of fake fear. Her face suddenly turned serious before she continued. "That seems to be the only thing you're good at."

"Don't talk about matters you know nothing about."

"I think I've already stated that I know at least some of what you went through."

Sasuke's grip tightened even more. "You know nothing, Sakura. Even if you claim that all of what you said is true, you can't expect me to believe you."

"Why?" Sakura shouted jerking her arm out of Sasuke's grip. "Because it doesn't fit into your hate consumed world? Because you can't believe your brother would be disappointed in the things you've done?"

"He wouldn't be," Sasuke growled, "he would be just as disgusted as I am that Konoha enjoys the freedom they were given because of him while still cursing his name."

Sakura slapped him unexpectedly. "How dare you taint his name? How dare you bring him down to your pathetic level? You want to kill a village just because they're happy? Because they don't know what Itachi did for them? Itachi chose his path for the good of Konoha! He planned on them hating him and never knowing his sacrifice. That is the path he _chose_! He knew that they were blindly enjoying freedom he gave them, and he was happy about it! It's like you're spitting on his grave by throwing aside everything he did for them."

"You don't know Itachi like I did, Sakura."

"You're right, apparently I knew him better than you did. You're just so arrogant and prideful that you can't accept that someone else may be right. You're just like my grandfather!"

"I don't care what you think, Sakura! Those hateful people smile and enjoy everything they don't know about."

"So just tell them and see if they're still as happy after find out! And you know what, I don't _care _that you think the world is against you!" Sakura shouted. "Stop making your troubles sound worse than everyone else's. You aren't the only one that has suffered in this world, Sasuke."

"They killed my clan-"

"And two years ago you were blaming that on Itachi! If you don't stop this now then you are _always _going to need someone to blame."

"That's not true-"

"Believe it or not I'm trying to help you. I'm on your side. I just want you to make your own decisions and stop being controlled by everyone else."

"Like I really care that a pathetic pathological liar is on my side. You've admitted to lying your whole life - and being good at it. Why should I believe you or rejoice at the fact that you're giving me help I have no need for."

"Because it's not about me! It's about Itachi!"

"I'm not sure I even know who that _is_ anymore!" Sasuke exploded, shocking Sakura. "My whole life I wanted Itachi to end up being that same brother I always loved, but didn't see how it could be possible. Don't tell me that you hated me for not believing in Itachi when I of all people wanted him to be the good guy."

"And he wanted you to be the good guy. Funny how that works."

"Uchiha were never meant to be the good guys," Sasuke said turning away from Sakura. He was done here.

"Do not walk away from this!" Sakura shouted. "Would you for once just listen and sort out your problems instead of running around in circles!"

"Why?" Sasuke shouted turning around and glaring at Sakura. "Sorting out my problems never got me anywhere. Pull the plank out of your eye before pointing out the splinter in someone else's."

"I've tried. Do you think that I enjoy having to mess with your head? That I enjoy turning your life upside down?"

"You sure do a good job for someone that doesn't enjoy it.

"I hate myself!" Sakura yelled turning on her heel and facing Sasuke. "Is that what you've been waiting to hear from me? I have lied to everyone I've ever known, and I hate myself for it! I don't even know who I am anymore! I'm so sick of lying to people and I'm so sick of myself! Does that make you happy to hear? Are you satisfied now?"

She was surprised when Sasuke sank to the floor and fisted his hands in his hair. "No," Sasuke responded weakly. "I don't know what I want to hear anymore. I've spent my whole life believing Itachi was to blame, but now it's the elders, or Madara, or Konoha, or is it myself?"

Sakura suddenly felt like she had been running a marathon. She sank onto the floor next to Sasuke. "You are not to blame, Sasuke. That I am sure of."

Sasuke shook his head while still staring at the ground. "How can you know that?"

Sakura shrugged, "I just do."

"I killed the best man to come from Konoha just because of revenge that ended up meaning nothing," Sasuke explained. "How does that make me innocent?"

"Every ninja has had blood stain their hands at least once," Sakura whispered. "Sometimes we just have to let go."

Sasuke let out a sigh. Sakura could tell he was growing uncomfortable.

"What was Karin calling you a whore fore anyway?" Sasuke asked changing the subject.

"Well, someone didn't give me permission to leave his room last nigh, so Karin came in and found me sleeping in your bed," Sakura answered turning to Sasuke. He showed no guilt and just nodded.

Sakura stood up to leave Sasuke with his thoughts but was stopped by his next words.

"Maybe my hate for Konoha is my way of covering the fact that I hate myself for killing him."

Sakura shook her head. "You shouldn't hate yourself for that. Trust me."

**I feel like it's been a while since I have updated, has it? Anywho... I am so happy to finally have this chunk done with! How'd you guys feel about it? I like it, but I feel as though I could have done a better job with it.**

**Holy Brown Cow! This story is getting closer and closer to being completed. I feel kind of sad...**

**A HUGE MASSIVE THANK YU TO: OracleOfTheShadows, Sumiku Agaishi, Neko the kawatta cat, sasyd, CJ122, Sarah-Manami, and .X (who got the hint in the last chapter HURRAH for you!) Yu guys really are the greatest.**

**In case anyone is curious, Sasuke is married to Temari... And by that I mean the voice actor for Sasuke (Yuri Lowenthal) is married to the voice actor for Temari (Tara Platt). The end.**

**The Fuzz \|/**


	16. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

Sakura blinked her eyes open and stretched out her arms. Had she really been successful in her mission? Could she go back now? The question that she really wanted answered was, would Sasuke go with her now?

She tossed the blankets off of her legs and jumped off the bed feeling slightly giddy for the first time in a while. She took a quick shower and began making her way to Sasuke's room to talk to him about it. He hand stopped mid-knock as a thought crossed her mind. Should she give him more time before dropping _this _bombshell on him, too?

_"_What's wrong?" an irritating voice broke through the silence. "Sasuke won't let you in?"

Sakura turned towards the voice while rolling her eyes. "No, I haven't even knocked yet."

Karin snorted and rolled her eyes while crossing her arms. "Of course... Just admit he won't let you in. You probably jumped him the other night."

Sakura's hand twitched. She had had it with Karin. Had yesterday taught her nothing? "Okay, first of all, gross," Sakura said pushing Karin away. "Second of all, Sasuke and I are not 'together.' We don't like each other and, we aren't dating. We can barely tolerate each other, so keep your nose out of my business!" Sakura had to bury the feeling that she had lied somehow. She also had no idea why she couldn't say, "You're welcome to him," like she had planned. Maybe she wasn't willing to wish that on anyone.

Sakura rid herself of any problems she felt about telling Sasuke and turned back to his door. She turned the doorknob and let herself in.

"Sasuke, I have something to-" she stopped short when she saw Sasuke was not in his room. It was probably around ten o'clock so it made sense for him not to be there. She decided to look for him at the training grounds and left a confused Karin in the hallway.

* * *

Sasuke was not at the training grounds, or anywhere for that matter. Sakura wasn't worried, just slightly concerned. Something about seeing him so vulnerable the day before had changed the way she thought about him. Somewhere deep down he was still just a frightened little boy.

She shook her head of those thoughts and continued to Madara's room. After running out of places to look, there was only one person she could ask about his whereabouts.

Sakura marched down the hallway and burst open the door to Madara's room.

"Where is he, Madara-_sama_," Sakura demanded immediately after she entered the room.

_"_You'll have to be more specific than that, Sakura," Madara monotoned as he looked over papers on his desk.

_"_Where's Sasuke," Sakura ground out.

_"_Oh, him," Madara sighed leaning back in his chair.

"Where Sasuke is, is none of your concern, Sakura," Madara said tapping his fingers on his desk. "You have your own mission to worry about."

Sakura crossed her arms and let out a sigh, "So, he's on a mission."

Madara waved the question aside and continued, "I have a branch of people making and inventing poisons for me, and I have suspicion that they are considering going rogue."

"Imagine someone turing against you," Sakura said. "Shocking." She pictured his eyebrows rising.

"I want you to go there and pose as a simple nurse that I am sending in response to their request."

Sakura nodded. "Where are they located?"

"Just a hundred miles north of Konoha."

Sakura knew he was trying to get a reaction from her. He wasn't going to get one.

"Come back when you receive evidence of their betrayal," Madara said in a dismissive tone.

Sakura found herself nodding again before she left the room.

* * *

The last thing she had wanted to do when she got up this morning was go on a long mission, especially one just outside Konoha. She readjusted the pack on her back and continued at a slow pace. What hurry was she in to please Madara?

A sigh escaped her lips after a few silent minutes had passed. She hated traveling alone! It was so _boring_. She happily remembered the days when she would travel with Itachi. Never a dull moment was spent when she was with Itachi. He would always keep traveling interesting. She shook the thought from her head.

"_Thoughts in the present," _Sakura thought to herself, but she couldn't keep herself from missing him.

* * *

After two of the most boring days Sakura had spent by herself, she arrived at the base of possible traitors. Why was Madara sending the traitor to check on traitors she thought to herself for the hundredth time? Maybe he didn't actually know she was a traitor... Of course he knew!

"Good evening, Ma'am," a quiet, mousy voice greeted bringing Sakura out of her thoughts. Sakura's first thought was that Hinata had been addressing her and that she should run before Hinata discovered who she was. A quick look in the speakers direction cleared Sakura of thoughts involving her old Konoha friend.

"Good evening," Sakura responded to the blonde girl that had addressed her.

"How may I help you?" the girl asked.

"My name is Sakura, Madara-Sama sent me here in response to your request for a nurse," Sakura answered.

The girl looked Sakura up and down before nodding and indicating that Sakura should follow her.

**Short, short, short! Bah. Sorry about the short update...**

**Anywho... On with the thank yus! The people that absolutely rawk my sox off this week are: Twisted Musalih, janiisaur, (Guest), LadyMartel4000, Jasmine-.-Momo-chan, aalc95, SweetRevenge1, CJ122, SorrowoftheHeart, and xoulblade! Yu guys are awesome!**

**I have a request! I would like to thank everyone reading this chapter next update and to do that I need you guys to review so I have a name to thank instead of just saying "Thanks everyone!" It doesn't even have to be a real review, you can just type the word "review" and that will be okay.**

**Again, sorry for the sucky update.**

**The Fuzz \|/**


	17. Chapter 16

**Disclaimer: I do not own**

_**Naruto**_

This chapter is dedicate to faithful reviewer: X. summergrey . X

Chapter 16

Naruto let out a very loud groan. "Kakashi!"

Kakashi grit his teeth as he tried to ignore Naruto. "_Just keep moving, Kakashi... Just keep moving..." _Kakashi repeated in his head like a mantra.

"Why can't we stop for ramen?" Naruto asked for the third time in ten minutes. "Maybe someone can actually _tell us_ where we should be going!"

Kakashi hated to admit that Naruto had a point. They had been traveling for a half a day without any idea of where they should be going. Kakashi's pace slowed and Naruto's heart soared.

"Fine," Kakashi sighed.

"YEAH!" Naruto shouted while fist pumping the air.

* * *

The sound of his feet crunching the leaves below him had been Sasuke's only companion for two weeks straight. Madara had sent him pointlessly to some secluded forest to find a very rare herb. When he got back to the base he was immediately sent on _another _mission.

He didn't mind the solitude; solitude gave him a chance to think about everything that had happened recently. Sakura had given him a lot to digest, and he honestly couldn't say where his heart lied anymore. In his frustration, he kicked a rock in front of him. Why was it so hard for him to decide where he wanted to go from here?

The sound of a stick breaking behind him alerted Sasuke of someone's presence.

Sasuke was too late in noticing the person and dodging as a kunai imbedded itself in his abdomen. He pulled it out quickly and threw it to the side. The distinct sting in his abdomen told Sasuke the kunai had been laced in poison. He let out a "hn," when he deduced it wasn't a strong poison.

Orochimaru had made sure he was immune to almost every type of poison. He would get rid of his enemy quickly and be on his way.

* * *

Sakura couldn't sleep. It was four-thiry in the morning and she couldn't fall asleep. Her brain kept nagging at her that something about this mission was off. She had been stuck at this base for two weeks and couldn't leave until she found evidence of the groups betrayal of Madara. As far as she could tell these people would never think about betraying Madara. If anything they were his most faithful followers. The leader, Mazui, practically idolized Madara.

"Lady Sakura, we need your help!" one of the maidservants called as she burst into Sakura's quarters.

In only seconds Sakura was on full alert mode.

"What's the issue?" Sakura asked pulling a jacket over her tank top.

"It's the man Uchiha-sama sent to check in on us, he's fallen very ill," the maid responded. The girl sounded terrified.

Sakura nodded and rushed on ahead. Wasn't she supposed to have been the only one Madara was sending? Sakura took a left at the end of the hall and quickly went to the third door on the right as the maid had indicated.

She knocked once and the door flew open. A flustered looking maid met her at the door, and Sakura heard a vicious coughing in the background. The flustered maid's expression became relieved when she realized who Sakura was.

Sakura ignored the maids and immediately looked for the coughing man.

"Sasuke?" Sakura gasped quietly, completely shocked. Sasuke was the last person she would expect to have fallen ill. Not just ill, Sakura realized taking in the situation, _seriously _ill!

Any idea that may have entered her head about him faking it left her mind at once.

"I'll take it from here," Sakura said dismissing the other maids. She couldn't let them know she knew him personally. Once they left the room and closed the door, Sakura flew to his side to assess his symptoms and diagnose the issue. The pillows and blankets had been thrown to the ground and the bottom sheet was tangled around Sasuke's legs. His shirt lie on the floor slightly torn, and, upon examining the sweat dripping from his body, it was most likely because he was burning up, but his whole body was shivering from some unknown draft. He was leaning over the side of the bed coughing and looking towards the ground, Sakura saw a mixture of vomit and blood. A string of drool mixed with blood was hanging from his lips. A trail of unemotionally involved tears were flowing from his drooping left eye while blood flowed from his right. He was breathing heavily and - after testing him with a pinch or two - appeared to be numb.

All the symptoms of a poisoning. She didn't have time to question when it happened. Sakura pulled him onto the cool hardwood floor and laid him on his side while she searched for some sort of entry point of the poison.

His stomach began to convulse as it tried to reject nonexistent food. He began to cough instead and his body settled for vomiting blood onto Sakura's arm instead. His stomach continued to convulse even after he was done vomiting the blood.

"Bring me some water and a large amount of liquidized fruit stat, or else you'll have Madara Uchiha to face when he dies!" Sakura shouted to the person she knew was on the other side of the door.

Sakura began feeling the back of his head while he clutched at her jacket feebly. She felt down his side and located a sweeling. Her hands followed the swelling to just below his abdomen where and infected and relatively deep gash was. Had he been stabbed? Sakura quickly felt his back and found whatever had stabbed him didn't go all the way through.

The fruit and water were brought in and Sakura quickly gave him some of each.

"You're going to just throw this up, but you need to give your body something to throw up besides blood," Sakura instructed. Sasuke nodded weakly to show he understood. "Keep drinking and stay on your side."

Sakura began healing the poisoned gash. A liquid began to pool around her legs. It was most likely Sasuke's sick, but she easily ignored it; worse had happened to her.

The cut was completely gone, but the poison was still in his blood stream. She moved her hands to his chest and began cleaning the poison from his blood.

"Not a very good poison," Sakura commented. "It would have been easier to get rid of if you had told me about it when you got here."

Sasuke gave Sakura a half-hearted glare before closing his eyes and passing out.

"Nothing says cool like almost dying because of an academy level poison," Sakura laughed. She made a move to stand, but Sasuke still had a hold of her jacket.

The action reminded her of the Forest of Death, before he had started his decline to darkness. Back when he was still her teammate, and she thought that she could keep him from Orochimaru. Sakura couldn't stop the sigh of relief that left her lips.

She had saved him.

* * *

He felt like he had when Orochimaru placed the curse mark on him. He was weak and feverish. With great difficulty Sasuke peeled his eyes open and saw Sakura sitting at the foot of the bed with her legs crossed and her head leaning over a book.

Sasuke lay silently for a few minutes and watched as she raised a hand and tucked her curtain of hair behind her ear. He hadn't seen it down since she first came to the base. He realized what he was doing and quickly looked away before a fit of coughing took him. Sakura's head turned to him and her eyes lit up in relief.

"Good, you're awake," Sakura sighed. "How are you feeling?"

"Like I'm dying," Sasuke said bluntly. "What kind of poison was it, anyway?" He tried to sit up and scrunched his face up from the pain in his stomach.

Sakura gently pushed him back down. She could feel heat trying to rise up her face at the feeling of his warm shoulder under her hand.

"_What's going on?_" Sakura thought to herself while shaking the feeling off.

"It was an extremely basic poison. If you had told me about it when you got here, this wouldn't have happened."

Sasuke shook his head while ignoring her pushing and finally sat up. "I passed out at the gates of this place as soon as I arrived. I couldn't have told you if I wanted to. I knew the blade was poisoned, but I also knew it was one of the poisons that Orochimaru made me immune to. I don't understand how it could have affected me."

Sakura hadn't thought about that. The whole situation was very strange... It was just like she had been thinking earlier. Something was definitely up.

Sasuke began coughing and broke her train of thought.

"I'll go make you some more medicine, be back in fifteen minutes."

Sasuke nodded and faced the window as Sakura closed the door.

The same thought kept nagging at him: Why had he been so affected?

* * *

Sakura whistled quietly as she made her way to the supply room to make Sasuke some medicine. Something about Sasuke's symptoms had been bothering her. They seemed familiar somehow, and not just because they were from a well-known poison.

A man spotted her in the hall and began walking towards her.

"Lady Sakura, Mazui-sama would like to see you," the male servant informed her.

"What for?" Sakura asked.

The man simply shrugged and indicated that she should follow him. She followed him up a winding staircase and through a long corridor. They finally stopped in front of a large door. The servant knocked on the door, and a quiet "Come in," was uttered before the servant opened the door, bowed, and left.

"You wanted to see me, Mazui-sama?" Sakura asked bowing.

"Yes," Mazui answered. "I want to ask you about this man Uchiha-sama sent."

"You may ask me, but I assure you I have no knowledge about him," Sakura lied easily.

"You seemed very quick in ordering everyone to leave that room for someone that doesn't know him," Mazui pointed out. "That tells me you didn't want anyone to witness how well you actually know the boy."

"I prefer to work without any distractions," Sakura lied again.

"I assure you I am not fooled by your lies," Mazui laughed with a twinkle in his eye.

"Since you can gain nothing from the knowledge, I'll tell you. Sasuke is my colleague, nothing more. Upon seeing it was him in the room, I didn't want anyone to know I knew him; it would have blown my cover. However, you should be more concerned by what Madara will do to you when he finds out you poisoned his pawn. It's just the sort of evidence I needed to prove you as traitors."

"What nonsense are you speaking, wench?"

"Madara suspected your group's betrayal and sent me to find proof. You poisoned Sasuke with an Academy student level poison so we wouldn't suspect you, after all, you are a top-notch poison maker. But, I know it was you and that is proof enough. The only thing I want to know is, how did you make such a basic poison that could affect Sasuke?"

Mazui looked at Sakura aghast, "I'm good at keeping a secret, Sakura," he smirked.

"You're not good at covering your tracks though," Sakura mocked.

"You should have paid more attention to your friends illness, and you would have discovered it wasn't poison that's affecting him. I would have thought that _you _of all people would have recognized it immediately. However, you should be more concerned about yourself now."

Sakura didn't have time to dwell on what he had just said when he spoke again.

"Kill her," Mazui commanded.

A swarm of ninja instantly surrounded her.

"Go ahead and try..." Sakura said under her breath as her eyes bled red.

**Ohmigoodness, I can't even tell you how long I have had half of this chapter written. It's been a very long time...**

**I can't say exactly how many chapters I have left, but I know it's getting close to the end :( **

**Well, not everyone that follows this story has reviewed so, I'm going to send a shout out to them! (Even though I'm sad I couldn't thank you with your name...)**

**THANK YU TO ALL YOU PEOPLE THAT REVIEWED AND FAVORITED AND FOLLOWED THIS CHAPTER: aalc95, neeme88, Nocturne Huntress, Hollow SoulxxxxxxBroken, Kiari Ferrari, summergrey, CJ122, SaNcTuArYXXXXbLoSsOm, LadyMartel4000, rainfurr26, Inori, MoonlightMidnight, Sukutai Chiko, Jasmine-.-Momo-chan, Twisten Musalih, AkaruiMirai, and Alierana! Yu guys seriously make me feel great! :)**

**I don't usually do this, but... You guys should check out my SSM stories. I know, I'm advertising my own stories, so sue me! (Not really, I don't want to be sued...)**

**The Fuzz \|/**


	18. Chapter 17

**Disclaimer: I do not own**

_**Naruto**_

Chapter 17

The Sharingan was part of Sakura's best kept secret. Usually she could count the number of people that knew she had it on one finger. Right now, with a group shinobi attempting to attack her, she couldn't use just one finger. A stunned silence filled the room momentarily before the shinobi began to advance again.

Sakura lept nimbly over her enemies and, as she was coming down, charged chakra into her fist. The chakra-charged fist slammed into a man's chest. He flew backwards while Sakura landed on the ground and immediately flipped backwards to dodge an incoming demon wind shuriken.

She threw some wire at the shuriken. The wire wrapped itself around the shuriken several times, securely attaching to it. With a tug, Sakura took control of the shurken and spun it above her head like a mace and chain. When she got it to spin fast enough, she launched it at a particularly large group of ninja. The smarter ones dodged; the less than smart ones let it hit them.

Sakura attached wire to a kunai and threw it at a man. As expected, he raised his hand in defense, and the kunai wrapped around his wrist. While he was trying to unravel the kunai and wire, Sakura sprinted at him and slid between his legs. She tugged on the wire, and the man flipped over landing directly on the kunai wrapped around his hand.

A man with a battle ax came charging at her while she was still on the ground. She tried to get to her feet to avoid the man, but she was suddenly stuck to the ground. She looked around and saw a man with his hand planted on the ground and a sticky substance extended from his hands all the way to her body. She struggled pointlessly against the muck as the man with the battle ax prepared to swing.

Taking a deep breath Sakura prepared herself for her next move. As she released the breath, fire flowed from her mouth and into the mans face. He let out a scream of torture, but Sakura ignored him and turned to the man gluing her to the floor and made eye contact. He blinked and was suddenly the one stuck by his own jutsu with Sakura before him with his comrades ax. She swung the ax and let it sink into a vital area.

She loved the Sharingan sometimes.

Another man came at her from behind performing hand signs. A wall of rock rose from the ground and began sliding quickly towards her. Sakura backed up towards a wall while trying to find the rock wall's weak point. She smirked and punched the rock wall when she found the weak point. She watched satisfied as it crumbled to the ground.

Fifteen ninja began attacking her with hand to hand combat. Sakura dodged, kicked, punched, jabbed, and flipped. It was like watching a deadly dance as the men around her slowly dropped to the floor.

Sakura felt a sting in her arm. Looking at the point of stinging she saw an empty vial attached to her arm.

"_Crap,"_ Sakura thought. She had been poisoned.

That would slow her down for sure.

* * *

Sasuke tapped his finger on the newly changed bed sheets. He felt nauseous and feverish again. Where was Sakura with that medicine? She said she would be gone for fifteen minutes and it had been forty-five!

He wasn't worried, he was just frustrated that she was taking so long when he felt so awful.

Why did he feel so awful anyway? Sakura had cured him. The poison was out of his system.

Another thing, if Orochimaru had truly made him immune to almost every poison, why did he still feel like he was dying?

Something was off.

A rumble shook the building as if to confirm Sasuke's suspicions. He threw the blankets off of his person and leapt to his feet. A stinging pain began to attack his head, threatening to tip him over, but he ignored it and kept walking to the door. Keeping a hand on the wall for support he made his was down the hall.

He had to find Sakura and get out of here.

* * *

The last man fell, and Sakura could feel the poison sapping her strength. She still had to get rid of Mazui.

"Too cowardly to fight me yourself?" Sakura panted, taunting Mazui who had stayed sitting throughout the entire battle.

Mazui let out a laugh. "I find it best to tire my enemies out before fighting them myself."

Mazui began to get on his feet and pulled a long katana out of a sheath hanging on his hips.

"You think I'm tired?" Sakura asked standing up straight and breathing normally again. "I haven't even broken a sweat, Mazui."

Mazui's eyes widened in fear momentarily before he checked himself and put on an indifferent mask again. "You've been poisoned, Sakura. This fight is already over."

"You're right," Sakura agreed causing a confused expression to pass over Mazui's face. "You've already made a crucial mistake that has lost you this battle, Mazui," Sakura called across the room.

"Oh?"Mazui snorted.

"You aren't avoiding eye contact," Sakura said as she activated her Sharingan and trapped Mazui in a genjutsu world. Sakura strolled slowly forward. She grabbed Mazui's katana and ran him through with it.

A beep sounded from across the room. Sakura threw a shuriken behind her and turned in time to see a man slide down the wall after pushing a self destruct button.

The entire building began shake, and Sakura let out a curse.

* * *

Sasuke's vision was clouding. He hurt everywhere and could feel himself losing consciousness. Darkness was surrounding him on all sides. Whatever the man he fought in the woods had given him was going to kill him. He was certain of that now.

"...ke..." he could hear a voice calling him distantly. Was he underwater? He really couldn't remember. He just wanted to give in and let the darkness take him, so he could escape the pain.

"...give up..." the voice said distantly again, but this time more urgently.

"_Yes..." _Sasuke thought weakly, "_Giving up would be so easy..."_

"Sasuke!" the voice called louder. If the voice wanted him to give up so bad, why wouldn't it just let him?

"_Please..._ give up!"

Why was the voice so annoying...?

Sasuke felt his body begin to move. Was the person dragging him somewhere? He felt so far away, but he couldn't bring himself to care.

* * *

"Come on, Sasuke," Sakura urged while she dragged Sasuke's unconscious body towards the supply closet. The entire building was collapsing around them. This wasn't the time for him to be unconscious, especially since she was losing her strength due to the poison. "Wake up, Sasuke!"

He had stopped responding to her. Earlier he had at least moved his head slightly in response to her voice.

"Don't you _dare _give up on me!" Sakura shouted.

His skin was so pale, and his breathing was very shallow. Why had she been so _blind_? She should have recognized his symptoms immediately! The sickness he had was so painfully familiar. How could she have not noticed it?

Sakura had to struggle to keep her head. She couldn't break down now, Sasuke needed her. But, seeing Sasuke like this was like seeing her grandfather, aunts, uncles, grandmother, brother, and father dying all over again. She could feel her throat constrict and the tears she had been fighting began to flow freely down her face as she continued to drag Sasuke to the supply closet.

"Come on, Sakura," Sakura said aloud to herself. "Keep it together, you can do this..."

A support beam collapsed from above her. Burning rubble knocked her off her feet and sent herself and Sasuke tumbling to the ground. She could feel the burn forming on her back and scrunched her face in pain.

The temptation to stay on the ground and just cry was so irresistible it was suffocating - or was that the smoke? So many emotions were going through her right now. She couldn't concentrate. It was already too late for Sasuke anyway, wasn't it? What could she do to help him when he had already entered the coma stage?

Besides, she had failed so many times, why not just stay on the ground and let the building collapse on top of her?

She looked over at Sasuke's face and her heart-wrenched. She couldn't just give up on him, could she? She had to keep trying, right?

Even with that thought in mind Sakura found it hard to get up. Whether it was the poison going through her or the desire to give up keeping her down, she didn't know. All of her nightmares about the illness had come crashing back. Her body was shaking in fear, and her heart was breaking at the memory of all of her lost family members.

She turned to Sasuke again. He had dark circles and lines under his eyes that reminded her of someone.

_...Itachi..._

The sickness had taken everyone she loved, and she was _not _going to let it take Sasuke, too.

A new sense of determination overtook Sakura. She grabbed Sasuke under the arms and threw him over her shoulder. Despite the poison, she easily carried him the remainder of the way to the supply closet. She kicked the supply closet door open and tried to ignore the explosions all around her while she searched for the correct ingredients to her antidote.

It was almost too late for Sasuke, and if she didn't already know how to make the antidote, he would have been done for.

* * *

Sasuke blinked his eyes open and found himself staring at stars. Hadn't he been in a building trying to warn...

"Sakura!" Sasuke remembered sitting up quickly. He was slightly surprised when his body didn't retaliate against the sudden movement. Hadn't he been feeling like he was dying a few hours prior?

"I'm right here," Sakura responded to his exclamation.

Sasuke turned to his right and saw her sitting with her back to him and her body silhouetted against a burning building.

Wait... Why was there a burning building?

"What happened?" Sasuke asked utterly confused, but making sure that didn't show in his voice. "I remember being sick, trying to warn you, and then, nothing."

"The whole thing was a trap. Mazui tried to kill me, so I killed him, a subordinate self-destructed the building to try and kill me, and I cured you," her back was still turned to Sasuke and that bothered him. Almost as much as her dead-sounding voice.

"What's wrong?" he asked without thought.

"Nothing," she shrugged.

"So why won't you turn around?" Sasuke asked.

A silence filled the field only interrupted by the occasional crackle of fire consuming the building.

"The poison you were given was never meant to be fatal," Sakura said, her voice barely audible.

Sasuke waited for her to continue.

"It was meant to distract me from the real issue until it was too late," she took a deep breath. "You were infected with the same illness as my whole family. You almost died, Sasuke."

She finally turned to him with red-rimmed eyes. Sasuke was more surprised that Sakura was actually crying than the news about his near-death. She seemed so unfazed by everything.

"And I almost let you," Sakura admitted in a whisper.

Sasuke didn't know what she meant, but a small wave of anger washed over him. How could she have almost let him die?

She stood up and brushed the grass off of her pants before heading off towards the woods opposite of the building. "It's time to go."

"Aren't you forgetting the base is that way?" Sasuke sighed pointing in the opposite direction.

"I know it is," Sakura responded. She was purposefully looking away - avoiding eye contact. "I'm not going back."

Sasuke stopped dead in his tracks. "What?" Why did the notion of her leaving even affect him?

"Madara tried to have me - _both _of us - killed. It's so obvious... Besides," Sakura turned to him looking him straight in the eye. Any sign of joking was gone, "I've told you everything. I did what I was supposed to. Now it's time for me to go back."

"Sakura..." Sasuke said, his voice like a warning.

"You can't have both of us and the time has come for you to choose. You can choose me or you can choose them. I'm not going to try and sell my side to you. I want you to see the benefits on your own and not just because I had to point them out to you. I don't want to live with you knowing I had to convince you to choose me; I deserve better than that. Itachi deserves better than that"

"I am _not _choosing," Sasuke growled. He was tired of her using Itachi against him. "You're being ridiculous."

"Then you choose them," Sakura said. Her voice sounded strained and defeated, like it wasn't just her being discarded. "I just wish you would stop letting other people control you, and that you would make your own decisions."

"I do-"

"No, I can assure you that you don't. You wouldn't be going back if you did."

"What made you think for a second I wouldn't go back?" Sasuke growled. He was getting angrier with her by the second, and he wasn't entirely sure why.

"Well, the obvious reason that Madara tried to have you killed, and I thought that you... Never mind, that doesn't even matter."

"Go ahead and say it," Sasuke sneered.

"I thought that maybe for once in your life, since your parents' death, you actually cared about someone other than yourself."

He snorted, "You mean you?"

"Maybe I did," Sakura ground out, pretending his comment didn't hurt as much as it did, "but that requires you to actually have some semblance of a heart."

"Why would I choose a liar that just admitted to almost letting me die?"

"I won't pretend that I didn't," Sakura sighed, "I was overwhelmingly reminded of the fact that everyone I ever cared about had been taken by the disease you had."

Did she really think that was a valid excuse?

"And as to the liar part," Sakura's voice brought him from his thoughts, "I have told you the truth in everything, except about what my Kekkei Genkei is. The one thing I can't tell you is the one thing you use against me to call me a liar!"

"I call you a liar because you've lied to everyone your whole life. Don't pretend like one moment of honesty excuses you from all of that."

Sakura could feel the tears brimming in her eyes, but she fought against them. "Madara is a man with no morals and no mercy - I would've thought you learned that when he gave you the same sickness that he used to wipe out an entire clan. Just try to remember that when he tries to kill you again."

With that Sakura turned and began walking away from Sasuke.

Sasuke resisted the urge to Chidori her through the back and began to walk away as well.

Both went their separate ways.

.

.

.

.

.

Sakura collapsed at the mouth of the cave she had called home for two years and finally let the grief overtake her.

"I'm so sorry, Itachi," Sakura cried out, "I failed you again! I'm so sorry..."

**That's a wrap! For this chapter, not the story. Another part of the story I've had written for a long time. Sasuke may be more than a little out of character here. I apologize.**

**There's a twist coming up in the next chapter! And then in the chapter after that (I'm pretty sure) Sakura's Kekkei Genkei shall be revealed. Any guesses as to what the twist and her Kekkei Genkei could be?**

**Thank you to my marvelous, wonderful, story favoriters, followers and reviewers! More specifically: anya2011, CJ122, OracleOfTheShadows, LadyMartel4000, MusicOfMadness, InfinityXisXme, Jasmine-.-Momo-chan, mdtiger, Petale de Rose, summergrey, and Whadeby!**

**I have 88 reviews! How is that even possible!? You guys are amazing!**

**The Fuzz \|/**


	19. Chapter 18

**I do not own**

_**Naruto**_

Chapter 18

Waiting for Madara to allow him to come into his office, Sasuke contemplated the decision he had just made. Was he right in rejecting Sakura's offer to go with her and leave Madara? Saying yes would have meant abandoning his vengance on Konoha, and he knew that he couldn't abandon that goal. Could he?

"Enter," Madara finally consented.

Sasuke cleared his head and entered Madara's office.

"You've returned so soon?" Madara asked. Sasuke could tell that behind the mask Madara was surprised to see him back at all. "Just you?" Madara asked trying to look around Sasuke for Sakura.

Sasuke nodded. "Sakura has betrayed you."

"This doesn't surprise me," Madara laughed. "She always was on Itachi's side when it came to his silly ideals."

Sasuke said nothing and left the room. The comment bothered him, though. Was Madara saying that Sasuke was the one that had chosen to go _against_ what Itachi wanted?

Sasuke fisted his hands and rubbed his eyes while letting out a growl of frustration. He was always so confident in his decisions, so why did he feel like he had been doing everything wrong recently?

He shook his head. He needed to stop thinking like that.

If Madara thought that Sakura was the one that was loyal to Itachi, he was wrong. Sasuke was doing what Itachi would have wanted and that was final. Sakura could try and make him feel guilty about not going with her, but he didn't need her or her lies.

_You would be dead without her..._

Sasuke scoffed. He could take care of himself.

* * *

Kakashi groaned as he tried to get comfortable on the lumpy hotel bed. Sometimes hotel matresses were worse than sleeping on the forest floor! He punched his pillow a few more times in hopes of getting it fluffier though he knew he was fighting a losing battle. His stomach grumbled and Kakashi resisted the urge to groan again.

Ramen for seven days straight, and they hadn't gotten any information about the Akatsuki's hideout!Could it get much worse? When a spring poked out of the mattress and into his back, Kakashi decided that it could get worse.

Just when Kakashi was about to doze off after five hours of lying awake in discomfort, Naruto let out a very loud snore and fell off of his bed.

"Wha-s it?" Naruto asked drowsily. Kakashi ignored him and tried to get some sleep much needed sleep.

_Tap_

Just ingore it, Kakashi thought to himself. It's just some stupid kid throwing rocks at the hotel.

_Tap tap tap_

Or it was just some annoying kid knocking on his window.

_Tap tap tap tap tap_

"That's it!" Naruto shouted shooting to his feet with a kunai in his hand, and Kakashi nearly let out a shout of indignation. Naruto stalked to the window and threw it open. "Knock it off will ya- _Ouch!_"

Kakashi turned in time to see a black bird pecking at Naruto irritably.

Naruto grabbed the bird and tried to throw it out the window. The bird rebeled and latched onto Naruto's hand and stuck out its leg.

"Cut it out you dumb bird!" Naruto yelled brandishing his kunai at it.

"Wait, Naruto!" Kakashi intervened. He had spotted something tied to the birds claw. Naruto spotted the note as well and untied it. The bird saw its job was done and flew away.

"Good ridance!" Naruto shouted before unraveling the paper.

"What's it say Naruto?" Kakashi asked.

"'Twenty miles southwest from here and then ten miles west. The cave in between the two mountains. You'll find what you're searching for there.' What's that supposed to mean?"

Kakashi examined the note with squinted eyes before answering. "I think we may have just gotten a lead on the Akatsuki."

Naruto couldn't contain the smile that brokeout on his face.

* * *

Sasuke sighed. He had made the right decision. He knew that. He shouldn't feel guilty and he shouldn't, dare he say it, _miss _her.

He let out a yell of frustration. He wanted to go beat somebody up, but for some reason he couldn't bring himself to go to the town because he knew Sakura would be disappointed.

This was so messed up.

What was right and what was wrong anymore? He thought he had been right to leave Sakura behind, but everything in him was telling him that was the wrong decision

But going after Sakura would mean abandoning everything he ever thought to be right. Was abandoing his desire to wipe Konoha off the face of the earth really what Itachi would have wanted?

Deep down he knew the answer to that question.

Everything he had ever done was because of Itachi. He wanted to be a better shinobi because of Itachi, he wanted recognition, revenge, answers, vengance all because of Itachi. Now that Itachi was gone he didn't have anything to go by. Sakura was right. He had never made a decision on his own before.

It was time for that to change. He just had to suck it up and face the consequences of his decision.

* * *

"So we're just going to follow some nameless lead that we got from a bird that came from who knows where?" Naruto asked readjusting his pack on his shoulders.

"That's pretty much it," Kakashi sighed.

"But isn't that just a bit-"

"What else do we have to go by?" Kakashi asked. This was the only lead they had about the Akatsuki and - trap or no trap - Kakashi was going to take it!

* * *

Sasuke looked at the mouth of the cave he had tracked her to. He took a deep breath. There was no going back now. He had made up his mind and no one was going to change it.

He took another deep breath and entered the cave. A second after his first step into the cave Sakura was right in front of him ready to attack.

Sasuke put his hands up, "It's just me."

She looked at him curiously. A slightly surprised look crossed her face, but she still hadn't dropped her guard.

"What are you doing here?" Sakura growled.

"I came after my renegade slave," Sasuke smirked. She glared not appreciating the "joke."

"You made a joke," she said, her voice monotone, "but you also made a choice; you chose them."

"What if I changed my mind?"

"Then what's to stop you from changing it again?"

He smirked; her quick rebuttals were one of the things he liked about her. "You are."

Wait. What did he just say? What did he just think!

"You're wrong, Sasuke," Sakura smirked, "I won't stop you if you try to leave. You can't just walk back to me and expect everything to be alright and forgiven. You betrayed me! After telling me everything you told me and acting like you wanted to change, you betrayed me. Now, you've come back and expect me to accept and trust you again without so much as an apology?" Sakura took a breath before finishing. "You're dreaming if you think I am."

Sasuke watched as she stormed off and for some reason, he felt his heart drop. He should have just apologized, but couldn't bring himself to. He had gone this far and couldn't even say two easy words?

"You never were good with women..." A voice chided behind him.

Sasuke immediately stiffened. That voice...

"...Foolish little brother."

**That may be the cliffiest cliffhanger I have ever done. Muahahahhahahha!**

**Sorry for the late update! When was the last time I updated, anyway...? I just haven't had a chance to write this and post it.**

**Thank yu to all of you lovely reviewers, followers, and alerters that have stayed with me: Petale-de-Rose, summergrey, imaslut, Ag3nt oF S3cr3t StuFf, Lazensha, girl tomboy, Kaito The Shadow Wrya, 01Trycia-chan01, kairigurl08, LilyVampire, Jamsine-.-Momo-chan, CJ122, The All Powerful Genie God, and Guest (whoever you are! I appreciate the review!), **

**Only three more reviews till 100! Can we do it? That's up to you guys!**

**Cheers,**

**The Fuzz \|/**


	20. Chapter 19

I do not own

_Naruto_

Chapter 19

"You- how- you're-" Sasuke closed his mouth and tried to make his eyes and tongue work. He seemed to fail on both accounts and settled on activating his Sharingan to see if the man in front of him was real.

He was.

The man simply smirked and poked Sasuke on the forehead. Sasuke rubbed his forehead with a miffed expression on his face despite the circumstances. "Itachi, how are you-"

"Alive?" Itachi questioned. "I believe a certain pink-haired kunoichi is to thank for that."

"But," Sasuke felt the sting of tears at his eyes, "but I killed you."

"Are you wishing I was still dead?"

Sasuke shook his head quickly. "It was my greatest regret," Sasuke amended. "How did you-"

"-She-"

"She," Sasuke corrected himself, "save you?"

"I think you have enough information to figure that out on your own, little brother."

Sasuke wracked his brain for the information that would give him an answer, but he could hardly form a coherent word, much less a coherent thought.

Itachi laughed at Sasuke's confused expression, and Sasuke shook his head in resignation.

"Did you notice that I seemed off in the fight between us?" Itachi asked.

Sasuke thought back to the fight. Itachi's slow dodges, careless mistakes, and sluggish movements. "You were sick," Sasuke remembered slowly.

Itachi nodded his head urging Sasuke to continue, but Sasuke just shook his head again.

"I'm sure you know how terrible the Haruno disease is, seeing as you had it yourself," Itachi began. Sasuke nodded slowly. "There's a second stage to the disease. You pass into a coma. In that coma your vital signs drop, you seem dead to everyone - even yourself."

"So you had the disease, and went into a coma at the end of our fight," Sasuke stated rather than asked. "But how did you live past that?"

Itachi gave Sasuke a raised eyebrow that said, "Are you stupid?"

"Sakura," Sasuke concluded. "But, if after you slip into the coma you seem dead to everyone, how did Sakura know you were alive? How did she know you didn't just die? How could she have known it was the sickness?"

"I would say that it was because she's an amazing medic and knew immediately what it was, but that would be a lie, and I feel I've lied to my little brother enough to last a lifetime," Itachi began. "Sakura had hope. She had been told of my sickness before I battled you, but I refused to let her heal me. I wanted you to win no matter what. She probably still hasn't forgiven me..."

Itachi seemed to drift to the past as he chuckled lightly and gazed into nothingness. Sasuke resisted the urge to beat his brother over the head to make him continue.

"When she arrived at the scene she checked if you were alive and immediately turned to me - I had told her enough times that you were top priority for her not think of you first. She refused to accept that I was dead, and after figuring out I wasn't with her excellent expertise, she stabilized me enough to move us to a safer location, but I still appeared dead to bystanders. As I understand from what she's told me, that's when Tobi showed up, and she was only able to escape with me. It took her six months to wake me up, another six months for me to get back on my feet and a year of training and planning - with some goofing off here and there - before she returned to Tobi."

Sasuke stared at his feet. He was trying to process everything Itachi had just told him.

"She could've woken me and rehabilitated me faster if she had had tools, but she only had her chakra and hands. Towns with proper supplies were too far away and she couldnt leave my side without losing me."

Sasuke stayed silent. This whole time they had been plotting to bring him back? His brother had really wanted nothing more than for Sasuke to change his ways, and Sakura...

Sakura.

She had given up her entire life for Sasuke and had to watch with her hands tied behind her back while he threw everything she and Itachi had given him back in her face.

He really did feel slightly regretful of his past decisions now.

"So?" Itachi asked.

"What?" Sasuke asked confused.

"Are you going to talk to Sakura now, or will I have to force you to?" Itachi answered. Sasuke shot Itachi a glare and walked off deeper into the cave. He heard Itachi chuckle behind him, and could have sworn he heard Itachi mutter, "That's what I thought."

* * *

Sasuke groaned. He couldn't find Sakura anywhere in this stupid cave! How was he supposed to apologize if she made it so difficult? Sasuke kicked a rock and walked to the mouth of the cave. He caught something pink out of the corner of his eye and turned to see Sakura sitting on a ridge above the mouth of the cave. She was staring blankly out at the landscape before her and hadn't noticed his entrance.

He flash-stepped next to her on the ridge. She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye and stood up. Without saying anything, she jumped down and walked back into the cave.

Sasuke growled in frustration and followed after her. Why were women so difficult?

"Sakura, stop walking away from me!" Sasuke commanded and Sakura immediately turned on him.

"Why?" Sakura demanded. "So you can pretend you did nothing wrong like you always do? I'm done pretending that you're never the one to blame!"

"That's not it," Sasuke said grabbing Sakura's wrists to keep her in front of him.

"Then what is it, Sasuke?" Sakura sighed. Sasuke had never seen her so _tired_.

_"_Sometimes I am to blame for what happens to me. I shouldn't have betrayed your trust like that. You _do _deserve better than how I treated you back then, and I'm..."

Sasuke tried to push the word out but couldn't. Sakura seemed completely shocked at his words, suddenly, he was focusing on how close she was. She exhaled and Sasuke could feel her breath fan over his face.

"I know," she sighed stepping closer and putting a hand on his cheek. "I haven't exactly made it easy on you."

Sasuke shook his head and became more aware of her hand on his cheek. "Don't put this on yourself. I'm to blame and I'm..." Some inexplicable force was pulling him forward towards her. "I'm... I'm..." He decided to stop talking and just let the inexplicable force take over.

"SASUKE!" A voice exclaimed making Sasuke and Sakura immediately pull away from each other. Sasuke looked at Sakura - was she blushing? - before looking for the source of the voice.

"Naruto!" he heard a much calmer and very familiar voice chastise before Naruto came into view. Kakashi was right behind Naruto looking as though he was trying to stop Naruto from attacking Sasuke needlessly.

"Kakashi?" Sakura asked squinting towards Kakashi's still distant form.

"Sakura..." Sasuke growled in accusation.

"Sasuke," Sakura said as if she was telling him she was as confused as he was.

"Kakashi!" Naruto yelled as Kakashi had just grabbed him by the collar of his shirt to prevent Naruto from doing anything rash.

"Naruto," Kakashi reprimanded again.

"_Sakura_," Sasuke pressed grabbing her wrist.

"Naruto..." Sakura said as if recalling past memories. Her eyes softened and she ignored Sasuke and turned to her longtime friend instead.

"Sakura..." Naruto suddenly stopped dead in his tracks noticing her for the first time.

"Sakura," Kakashi choked stopping dead in his tracks as well. He hadn't truly believe Naruto until now

"Sakura," Sasuke pressed again squeezing her wrist tighter. He wanted answers.

"Sasuke!" Naruto shouted noticing how tightly he was holding onto Sakura's wrist.

"Kakashi," A new voice entered.

"Itachi...?" Kakashi questioned.

"Itachi...?" Naruto questioned looking at Kakashi and then following his line of vision to Itachi. "Itachi!?"

"Itachi..." Sasuke muttered coming to the same realization Sakura had come to.

"Itachi!" Sakura shouted. "You sent them here didn't you?" she pointed an accusing finger towards Kakashi and Naruto.

"Yes," Itachi answered honestly.

Sakura looked at Itachi for a few moments and then back at Naruto. "Oh no... No. You are not going to use Naruto as bait!"

Normally Naruto would have been outraged at being referred to as bait, but he was too confused to say anything.

"Sakura, don't jump to conclusions," Itachi chastised. "But, yes, I do plan on using Naruto as bait.

**Well, what do you guys think? Itachi's back and here to stay - for now. Sorry it took so long to get this out. Schedules have changed so it's hard to find a time when I am alone and can write. I don't like writing when people can read over my shoulder...**

**I've also been bit by the Writer's Block bug and the Zelda bug, so I have been focusing more on a Zelda story I've just come up with... I apologize.**

**REQUEST: I am coming up with a story that I need prompts for. It's going to be like a one-shot collection, but with a plot. Yes that sounds weird, but it will make sense when I post it. GIVE ME ALL THE PROMPTS YOU'VE GOT! ... Please?**

**THANKS A BUNCH TO: RosieStories98, XLILXTROUBL3ZX, KayJune, LilyVampire, StarTrail, infinityXisXme, mdtiger, kimmlp, SakuraUchiha2328, GGirll, LadyMartel4000, Jasmine-.-Momo-chan, YourWorstNightmare16, trizteza91, summergrey, XxSakuraFanxX, Sekireiguy4368, and Guest (x4)**

**Have I told you lately... That you're awesome?**

**Cheers,**

**The Fuzz \|/**


	21. Chapter 20

Chapter 20

"No!" Sakura protested. "You can't use him as bait!"

The shock Naruto had gone into at the entrance of Itachi had faded, and the reality of the situation finally caught up with him as his eyes widened in confusion. "Wait!" Naruto cried out making a time out symbol with his hands.

Itachi and Sakura turned to Naruto expectantly while Sasuke sighed and crossed his arms.

Naruto looked from Sakura to Itachi pleadingly. "Sakura..." he said sadly. "What happened to you? Why are you with the Akatsuki? How is Itachi alive? Why isn't Sasuke trying to kill me?"

"Don't tempt me, Dobe," Sasuke droned.

A long silence filled the room before Sakura broke it. "It's a long story, Naruto."

"Believe me, Sakura, I have nothing but time," Naruto growled.

Sakura let out a sigh and explained everything to Naruto and Kakashi. They had a right to know, and, in all honestly, Sakura had wanted to tell them for years. When she finished her story about following Itachi, saving Itachi's life, trying to get Sasuke to change, and leaving Akatsuki, Naruto and Kakashi just stared at her wonder, trying to decide if they believed her or not.

"Now it's your turn to explain yourself, Itachi," Sakura said crossing her arms and turning back to Itachi. "Why would you use Naruto as bait? You know that letting Naruto into Tobi's hands is extremely stupid. Why did you bring them here?"

Itachi let out a long sigh. "Naruto will simply lead Tobi to us. He will be in just as much trouble as the rest of us, and Kakashi's sharingan is necessary for this plan."

Sakura processed the information. She was curious as to why Kakashi's Sharingan was necessary, but she knew Itachi would tell her when he was ready. She let the matter go and turned back to Naruto and Kakashi. She allowed herself a deep breath before asking them the question that had frightened her to no end.

"Do you forgive me?" Sakura asked shakily.

A grin broke across Naruto's face almost immediately. "You're alive and not really evil. That's all that matters to me!"

Kakashi stared at Sakura for a while. His gaze was heavy and Sakura couldn't breathe. "As far as I'm concerned, you protected your family and never really betrayed the village. Yes, I forgive you."

Sakura released a long breath. She had needed to hear that. She needed to know that more than anything. Despite her resisting, tears leaked from her eyes, and she gathered Naruto and Kakashi into an awkward hug.

"Thank you," she whispered over and over without ever truly feeling she had said it enough.

Sakura turned suddenly to Sasuke. Sasuke gave her a questioning look before Sakura grabbed him by the wrist and began pulling him away.

"Sakura, what the heck?" Sasuke protested, trying to pull his wrist from her grip. Sakura ignored him and pulled him into a separate area of the cave.

"I haven't been as honest with you as I should have," Sakura said suddenly stopping in place. She turned to Sasuke and gave him an apologetic look. "You wanted to know what my Kekkei Genkei is, and I think it's finally safe enough for me to tell you."

Sasuke stiffened and prepared himself for what Sakura was about to tell him. She bit her lip and seemed to war with herself for a while before letting out a long breath.

"We were called the Copy Cat Ninjas because our Kekkei Genkei literally made us copy cats," Sakura began. "We could watch someone perform a jutsu one time and copy it perfectly right after, but you could only copy it the one time. You had to watch someone do it again before you could perform it again. It's different from the Sharingan, because, unlike the Sharingan, we could even copy other people's Kekkei Genkeis. Not only could we copy them, but we could copy one jutsu and keep it for our own for the rest of our lives if we wanted. Itachi willingly let me permanently copy his Sharingan. That is why Madara wanted to have our Kekkei Genkei eradicated. We could copy his own jutsu to stop him."

Sasuke let the new information sink in before asking. "Why didn't he kill you?"

"Madara wasn't positive I had the Kekkei Genkei. I was too useful to him as a medic-nin for him to kill me without knowing if I had the ability or not."

Sasuke nodded. He was glad that she had finally told him, but he wasn't going to let her know he was. He turned on his heel and walked back to Naruto, Kakashi, and Itachi.

Sakura watched Sasuke walk away, wondering if he had been okay with what she said. He was acting strange. Then again, if she had found out her brother was actually alive after all of these years, she would be acting the strange, too.

Sakura shrugged and followed him back to Kakashi, Naruto, and Itachi.

"Ah, good, you're back," Itachi said motioning them to come forward.

"So, what's your plan, Itachi?" Kakashi asked fixing his gaze on Itachi.

"Naruto is going to be the bait to get Tobi here," Itachi began. "But he won't actually be in any trouble. We're going to start news spreading around town that one of the tailed beasts is in this cave. When it comes to tailed beasts, talk travels fast. Tobi will hear the news and believe it because he knows Naruto and Kakashi were looking for Sakura. He'll come here and we'll be ready for him."

"Great, so we have a way to get him here, but what's our plan after he comes?" Kakashi asked.

"We'll need your Sharingan, and Sakura, I'll need you to copy his Sharingan as well," Itachi said as an aside to Sakura. Sakura nodded and Naruto looked confused.

"How is she going to do that?" Naruto wondered.

"My Kekkei Genkei," Sakura said simply and turning back to Itachi to get him to continue.

"Kakashi's Sharingan is vital," Itachi repeated making sure they understood. "That, I believe, is our only way to touch Tobi."

"Why?" Kakashi asked. "Why not your Sharingan?"

"Because I believe your Sharingan and Tobi's are one-and-the-same," Itachi explained.

"That's not possible..." Kakashi whispered to himself.

"Kakashi," Itachi turned to Kakashi, "you're going to have to accept the possibility that Tobi is Obito Uchiha."

**Well, that was a sucky chapter if I may say so myself. I'm debating whether or not I want this next chapter to be the last and then an epilogue, or if I want to have three more chapters... I'm terrible at writing fight scenes, so be prepared for a long wait.**

**Everyone loved the bit of comedy I added to the end of the last chapter with all of the names. Believe it or not, I am quite the goofy person. For some reason that just doesn't transfer to my writing a lot of the time... Go figure.**

**Thank you to: StarTrail, YourWorstNightmare16, Sasusakuloverxoxo, mdtiger, LadyMartel4000, FakeMirage, LilithiaRW, CJ122, The Apprentice of Pisces, Guest, Jasmine-.-Momo-chan, Naniofthewolves, FairyTailForTheWin, LilyVampire, and summergrey!**

**You guys are awesome.**

**The Fuzz**


	22. Chapter 21

Chapter 21

**I do not own _Naruto_**

A few days had passed, and Kakashi had dealt with the news surprisingly well. Itachi had then explained the importance of that information before telling everyone the plan.

"I _hate _the rain!" Naruto groaned as he, Sasuke, and Sakura sloshed through the mud towards a village near the cave.

"What do you want us to do about it, Naruto?" Sasuke growled. Sakura was proud of both of them. They hadn't tried to kill each other once.

Naruto grumbled under his breath something about evaporating it with a katon. Sakura couldn't complain, she found the rain soothing.

"How much further?" Naruto groaned.

"We're almost there, Naruto," Sakura reassured him. "Look, you can see the lights of the village from here."

"I can't see anything through this rain..."

Sakura laughed softly and relished how good it felt to laugh again.

* * *

Sakura rushed into the market like death was at her heels. Even though the market wasn't very crowded, she shouldered herself through in a way that aroused suspicion around her. She filled the basket quickly with random items and slammed them on the counter to purchase them. Sasuke had to admit, she played nervous very well. She tapped her foot and bit at her nails impatiently.

"Your total is-"

Sakura interrupted the woman by slamming a large amount of cash on the counter.

"Sakura, what are you still doing here?" Sasuke asked rushing towards her and pulling her away by the arm.

"We had to get more supplies," Sakura explained.

"We have to go, _now_," Sasuke urged.

"What's going on here?" a burly man called from behind them. Sakura stopped and turned to the man practically shaking with fake fear. "We don't want any trouble around here. What seems to be the problem?"

"If you don't want any trouble you should leave town," Sasuke warned.

"Why?" the man asked.

"The nine-tails jinchuuriki is staying in a cave just west of here," Sakura whispered out, "and rumor has it, lately he hasn't been able to control the Kyuubi."

Sakura did a double take in Naruto's direction and froze in fear. Sasuke followed her gaze and stiffened as well. Sakura raised a shaky hand at Naruto and the man's gaze followed where she was pointing.

"That's him there," Sakura whispered.

Sasuke grabbed Sakura's arm and pulled her away. When the man looked back at them, they were gone. He turned back to look at Naruto and jumped when Naruto appeared right in front of him.

"Where might I find a market?" Naruto asked.

Naruto grinned devilishly as the man swallowed thickly.

* * *

"How was town?" Itachi asked casually while turning a page in his book.

"Good," Sakura answered. "We got some food."

She held up the bags and set the bags in cave.

Naruto arrived shortly after with an armful of ramen. "Who knew making my eyes red could get me enough free ramen to last a week?"

"In your case it will last day," Sasuke sighed. Sakura let out a laugh, and Naruto shot a defiant look her way.

"Well it's true," Sakura pointed out.

"I was thinking about sharing, but now, none of you can have any!" Naruto shouted clutching the ramen protectively to his chest.

"We don't want any of your ramen, dobe," Sasuke told him.

Sakura let out a laugh and for the first time in years, let herself believe everything was going to be okay.

* * *

Two days had passed without any disturbances. Everyone but Naruto took turns keeping watching for Tobi's arrival. It would only take him a few days to get to their hideout after finding out about it. Sakura was just beginning to think their scheme was a dud when a shift in the wind caught her attention.

"He's here," Sakura muttered to Sasuke who was sitting next to her. He slowly nodded in acknowledgment of what she had said and subtly telling her he knew.

Sasuke and Sakura went back into the hideout and warned Naruto.

"It didn't take you long to show your face here," Naruto greeted as Tobi entered.

"News travels fast," Tobi shrugged.

"You must have had you ears peeled for any news on Naruto," Sakura scoffed.

"When one has a goal," Madara started, "one stays completely focused on that goal and ignores everything else."

"Which means we're focusing on nothing but killing you," Sasuke growled.

"Sasuke, don't!" Sakura shouted, but Sasuke had already rushed towards Tobi.

Without hesitation Tobi threw a kunai at the three of them. Sasuke sank into a low crouch, Sakura performed a back handspring, and Naruto leapt into the air. The kunai sailed by without causing injury. Sasuke used his crouched position to swing his leg around to Tobi's. Tobi leapt away from Sasuke's foot and landed on his hands. Naruto took the opportunity to throw a kunai at Tobi's head.

It went right through without phasing Tobi. Naruto cursed as he landed back on the ground. Tobi took the moment of distraction the Naruto's kunai provided to swing his legs around and kick Sasuke in the jaw. Sasuke flew backwards, but Naruto caught him by the arm, spun around, and released Sasuke towards Tobi like a human bullet.

Unfortunately at the exact same time Sakura charged at Tobi with a chakra-enhanced fist, but Tobi grabbed her by the wrist, swung her around, and threw her like a human bullet right at Sasuke. Sasuke and Sakura collided in mid-air and fell back on top of Naruto.

While the three of them were being knocked over like human dominoes, Tobi jumped into the air and threw three kunai at the pair. Sakura had been knocked unconscious by the collision with Sasuke, and a very dazed Sasuke was trying to get Sakura's unconscious body off of him, which left Naruto who threw a shuriken to knock the kunai off course.

It worked, but Naruto realized too late that the kunai were just a distraction, and Tobi landed on top of Naruto. Tobi placed his hand on Naruto's forehead and began to suck out Naruto's chakra. Sakura regained consciousness, and Sasuke shook his head and noticed Naruto's predicament. He quickly got to his feet and ran towards the struggling Naruto and Tobi. Tobi let out a grunt as Sasuke elbowed him forcefully in the ribs to knock him off Naruto. The collision knocked Tobi's mask off, revealing his face for the first time. Naruto had lost consciousness, and Sakura was making her way towards him to rejuvenate him, leaving only Sasuke and Tobi. Sasuke rushed forward and engaged in a taijutsu combat with Tobi. For some reason, Tobi was allowing Sasuke to actually make contact with him.

"Come on, Naruto," Sakura whispered watching the battle between Sasuke and Tobi while injecting Naruto with her own chakra. Naruto stirred and got back to his feet. Sakura watched as he formed the rasengan and began running towards Tobi and Sasuke.

"Duck!" Naruto shouted to Sasuke. The shout distracted Sasuke enough for Tobi to knock him unconscious and throw Sasuke's limp form into Naruto's path.

Sakura saw that Naruto couldn't stop himself or the jutsu while Sasuke's body flew directly towards him.

"Naruto!" she couldn't help shouting.

A puff of smoke appeared in the middle of the battlefield, and Naruto launched backwards with a yell. Sakura squinted towards the smoke. Whatever had just happened, she had to get Sasuke's body out of the way of the battle. The smoke finally cleared, and Sakura saw Sasuke was slung over the shoulder of Kakashi.

So, he had been the one that stopped Naruto. Sakura rushed forward to take Sasuke from Kakashi while Kakashi glared at Tobi.

"Obito," Kakashi growled after Sakura had taken Sasuke from him.

"Kakashi," Obito said. Looking passed the hate, Obito was actually slightly surprised.

"Wh-"

"I don't have to explain myself to you," Obito interrupted calmly. "Now, shall we continue?"

Obito got into a defensive stance, egging Kakashi on. Kakashi sped forward, flipped into the air, and brought his leg down on Obito. Obito stopped the attack with his forearms, grabbed Kakashi's ankle, and threw him to the ground. Obito then jumped into the air and threw a kunai towards Sasuke - still unconscious - and Sakura. Kakashi let out a warning cry to Sakura, and she ducked. Naruto - who had used Kakashi's distraction to sneak behind Obito - had formed a rasengan and was flying towards Obito. Obito simply let the attack faze through him causing Naruto to come crashing towards Kakashi. Kakashi performed a back bend to dodge Naruto, and Naruto - his rasengan no longer active - crashed into Sakura. Obito had used the distraction and threw a kunai at the group, but Kakashi - still in his backbend - performed a back hand spring and kicked the kunai off course.

Sasuke regained consciousness and nodded to Kakashi and Naruto. Kakashi and Sasuke performed the hand signs for chidori and Naruto performed rasengan for the third time. The three charged towards Obito, but Obito simply used his sharingan, and the three disappeared.

"It's just you and me now, Sakura," Obito said as if he were talking about the weather. "I think I'm going to rather enjoy killing you."

Sakura yelled as she charged at Obito with a chakra infused fist. Obito blocked the attack by grabbing her wrist. Obito kicked at Sakura, but she grabbed his calf. He then lifted his other leg up and brought it down towards her head, but she dodged to the right of his attack. Sakura used her grab on his arm and leg and slammed him to the ground. She released his leg and punched at his face, but he caught her wrist and simply kneed her in the gut. Sakura rolled onto her back and let out a groan of pain. Obito pinned her to the ground and head butted her. While she was dazed from the blow he punched her hard in the face repeatedly.

"I find using brute force to kill someone is more enjoyable," Obito smirked. Sakura let out a cough in response. She hated this. He always had a way of making her feel so weak. She struggled feebly to push him off of her, but she didn't need to, Obito was knocked backward without her. She looked around, and, through blurred eyes, she saw Itachi standing next to her. Sakura let out a sigh of relief and lost consciousness.

"_kura..." _

Sakura let out a groan, who was calling her? She opened her eyes and saw a very battered and bruised Itachi and Obito - who was in the same condition.

Sakura got drowsily to her feet. How much of the fight had she missed? She grabbed a kunai form her pouch and ran towards Obito just as Itachi was knocked backwards. Obito grabbed his own kunai, and when Sakura passed uselessly through him and plunged his kunai into her chest. Sakura slumped onto Obito and let out a cough full of blood.

"Stupid gir-" but Obito was cut but his own cough of blood.

_"It worked..." _Sakura thought as she slumped to the ground and everything went dark.

"SAKURA!" Itachi yelled. Itach charged towards a very confused and dying Obito and blunged his own kunai deep into Obito's chest.

Just as Obito collapsed - dead - on the ground, Naruto, Kakashi, and Sasuke reappeared from the other dimension Obito had sent them.

"Did it work?" Kakashi asked wiping Obito's blood off of his hand. He looked broken.

"Yes," Itachi answered, "but not without loss..."

Everyone looked around. Naruto spotted her first and simply collapsed to his knees unable to process what he was seeing.

Sasuke was the first to rush forward to her. He collapsed on his knees next to her and shook her gently as if she was just asleep and needed to be woken up.

"Sakura," Sasuke choked out at first."

"Sakura don't you leave me," Sasuke yelled, his desperation increasing. He was on the verge of breaking down and no one knew what to do. "Don't you dare leave me."

Naruto took a step forward debating if he should do something, but what could he do when he was close to breaking down as well? He had already lost her once and just when he had gotten her back she was leaving again. Kakashi put a shaky hand on Naruto's shoulder in weak reassurance.

"Darn it, Sakura, stay with me!" Sasuke screamed. Sasuke gave a sad smirk and said much more calm. His voice broke a few times, "I command you to wake up."

It was like some joke between them Naruto guessed. He saw something slide down the bridge of Sasuke's nose and drip off.

"Darn it," Sasuke muttered before pounding the ground repeatedly. "Darn it... Sakura!"

"Sasuke..." he heard a voice thick with sorrow say. Sasuke ignored it and continued to beat the ground while muttering profanities.

"Sasuke," the voice said more commanding now.

"She sacrificed her whole life for me. She never got to live her life the way _she _wanted to because of _me._ She sacrificed _everything!" _Sasuke yelled. He had finally completely lost it, though Naruto found it hard to focus on anything at the moment. The nine-tails was clawing at him and he had to keep him under control.

"You were not the one that placed that responsibility on a seven year old," Itachi said trying to calm Sasuke down.

Sasuke shook his head. "I'm done blaming other people. She gave her whole life to guard and guide me and I couldn't protect her. She was like my guardian angel and I couldn't protect her!"

There was a brief silence.

"Do you know what that's like..." Sasuke whispered and then louder, "Do you know what that's like?"

Naruto heard the sound of someone being punched and could only assume it was Itachi.

"Sasuke," Itachi said, but not in a soothing, scolding, or apathetic way. More like he was trying to get his attention.

"You can't know!" Sasuke was yelling. It sounded like he was punching Itachi and Itachi was letting him. "You don't know what it's like to let the person you love die because you couldn't protect them!"

The punching stopped as if Sasuke realized what he was saying and to whom.

"I-Itachi," Sasuke whispered as he slumped to the ground. "I'm sorry. I-I didn't..."

Naruto look up and saw Sasuke slumped over with his face in his hands. Itachi kneeled in front of him.

"It's okay, look," Itachi said putting a hand on Sasuke's shoulder, "she's breathing again."

Sakura let out a groan and her eyes fluttered open.

"You're alive..." Naruto said breathlessly.

"What happened?" Sakura asked groggily.

"We did it," Sasuke answered back at her side.

Sakura smiled. "That's good."

Sasuke watched as she placed a healing hand on her chest and the wound slowly closed.

"I think I owe you an overdue apology," Sasuke whispered.

"I owe you one too," Sakura whispered back. "I'm sorry I wasn't honest with you. I should have told you my story a long time ago. I should have told you everything and tried to steer you away form dark revenge when I first saw you leaning that way. I also should have told you Itachi was alive, but I was too prideful and insecure-"

"I already forgave you. Now, would you be quiet so I can be glad you're alive," Sasuke interrupted before leaning down and kissing her.

Sakura pulled away with a smile on her face. "Is that your way of getting me to stop talking?"

Sasuke nodded and rested his forehead on hers. "It doesn't seem to be working, though."

"You could always try again," Sakura replied grinning sheepishly at him. He took the suggestion and kissed her again.

Sasuke pulled away and leaned slightly backwards so Sakura could see the rest of the group for the first time. She had never turned so red before.

Itachi laughed, Naruto faked blindness, and Kakashi's eye crinkled in a smile.

"Sakura," Itachi said crouching next to her as well. "It's time to go home."

Sakura didn't think more beautiful words had ever been spoken to her.

**The End.**

** Well, that's the end. I'm sad but happy all at the same time. It's a relief to finally be finished, but I'm going to miss this. If anything was confusing, just send me a message and ask me about it!**

** If you do review (PLEASE DO!) tell me what your absolute favortie part of this story was.**

** And, now, a shout out to all of my lovely, wonderful, fantastic, fabulous, magnificent, glorious, supportive reviewers/favoriters/followers: NekoJellal, MoonlightNightmare, I'llBeYourBeautifulNightmare, iluvfanfics1997, carriann, Vampirix, TS Lover Swiftie, sugarstarxxx, sagasaka, xJaytee, Kaito The Shadow Wrya, XxSakuraFanxX, narutolover5110, LadyMartel4000, AnimeBear, LilyVampire, itunesaddiction, Ruined Doll, Rainee 1211, CJ122, StarTrail, LilithiaRW, ecarG H. C, Jasmine-.-Momo-chan, angeles poncehuaman , YourWorstNightmare16, GlOmP3R, Depressed perfectionist, and Petale-de-Rose. You guys are the absolute best. Thank you for talking this journey with me.**

** Until the next one!**

** Fuzz 15**


End file.
